Tuesday, January 10,
Restocking pushed Chinese imports of iron ore to a nine-month high of 58.08 million tonnes in December, up 1.2 percent compared with November, customs data showed on Monday.
However, total imports for 2010 declined 1.4 percent yearon-year to 620 million tonnes, in line with predictions made by the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA).
“India’s move to cut exports in the latter half of the year led to a fall in imports,” said an iron ore trader in the port city of Rizhao on China’s eastern coast.
“Rising domestic iron ore production has helped Chinese steel mills buy less from overseas, and a bigger flow of materials to European countries has also led to fewer arrivals to China,” said Xu Guangjian, an analyst.
The Rizhao trader said the government’s campaign to shut down steelmaking capacity in the second half of 2010 also restrained China’s iron ore demand. China, the world’s largest steel exporter, delivered 2.85 million tonnes of steel products overseas in December, down by 2% from November, bringing the annual total to 42.56 million tonnes.
Source: Reuters
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