Iron ore price, page-52151

This article might perk everyone up a little bit ... so much good news on the horizon folks!

China’s import surge.
By Glenn Dyer. 10 May 2024

Amid China’s unexpected 8% surge in imports, iron ore shipments into the country stood out with a stronger-than-expected outcome, while oil and coal imports were also solid.

Iron ore is the commodity closest to Australia’s economic heart, and news that China’s appetite hasn’t slowed—despite a serious buildup of stocks at the country’s 45 major ports (to more than 146 million tonnes)—will be welcomed by local investors.

Data from China’s Customs Administration showed that April's iron ore imports edged up 1.1% from March to 101.82 million tonnes.

Not only was that a touch higher than March, but it was also a large 12.6% higher than the 90.44 million tonnes imported in April 2023.

"The obvious annual increase is mainly due to a low base effect; the volume last April was relatively low, but since there is no big change in the daily consumption of iron ore among domestic steelmakers, imports in April remained high," said Pei Hao, a Shanghai-based analyst at international brokerage Freight Investor Services, told Reuters.

"Actually, the second quarter will probably also see comparatively higher imports versus year-ago levels following an annual increase in the first quarter."A slower-than-expected recovery in hot metal output in March put downward pressure on ore prices which has now turned with reports of rising demand, output, and capacity utilization.

Higher shipments in late March to catch up with quarterly targets also contributed to a relatively high import volume in April, said analysts.

China's iron ore imports in the first four months of 2024 totaled 411.82 million tonnes, up 7.2% from the same period in 2023. That’s an annual rate of more than 1.2 billion tonnes—a record if sustained until the end of the year.

Both ore demand and prices will improve in the second half of the year, benefiting from a quicker issuance of special bonds in the second quarter, stimulus including equipment upgrades, and robust steel exports, said Jiang Mengtian, an analyst.

But China's steel exports in April jumped by 16.3% from the year earlier to 9.22 million tonnes.April's shipments brought the total for January to April to 35.02 million tons, the highest for the period since 2016, a rise of 27% year-on-year, the data showed.

That is setting up a trade brawl later in the year, especially with the US.

Iron ore prices edged up to close just over $US116 a tonne on the SGX trading platform in Singapore. That took the price rise so far this month to 16%, rebounding from the 9% slip in March.