World’s largest iron ore importer, China has imported around 80.8 MnT iron ore in the month of Oct’16, down by 13% as compared to Sept’16 i.e. 92.9 MnT and lowest since Feb’16 due to higher cost of coking coal and restriction imposed by the government on steel production.
However, on the Y-o-Y basis, country’s import increased by 7% as it was 75.5 MnT in the same consecutive month last year.
In the first 10 months of 2016, the country imported 843.51 MnT iron ore, up by 8.8% as it was 774.8 MnT in the same consecutive time frame prior this year.
It is to be noted that global iron ore prices also moved up from USD 55/MT, CFR China to the level of USD 65/MT, CFR China in the month of Oct’16. The price gain was entirely due to higher coking coal prices which compelled Chinese buyers to opt for high-grade iron ore instead of low-grade ore in order to reduce coal consumption.
Chinese steel exports down by 12.5% M-o-M
In Oct’16, Chinese steel exports registered a downfall of 12.5% M-o-M. Steel exports remained at 7.7 MnT in Oct’16 against 8.8 MnT in Sept’16. On the Y-o-Y basis, steel exports also remained lower by 14.4%.
In first 10 months of 2016, country’s steel exports registered at 92.8 MnT, up by 1.3% as it was 91.6 MnT in the same consecutive time frame last year.
Prime reason behind decrease in Chinese steel exports:
- Due to number of international expos and forums there is temporary environmental restriction imposed on steel production by government in Tangshan city
- China’s slow economic growth and increasing overcapacity problems
- Trade restriction imposed by European and US steel producers due to the influx of continuous low priced steel products into their countries
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