iron ore up again!, page-27

It looks like next year could be quite bullish, article from Reuters


* Steel output, consumption, iron ore imports seen at new records in 2014
* Steel consumption by construction sector expected to keep growing

SHANGHAI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - China's iron ore imports are expected to rise
6.3 percent to a record of 850 million tonnes next year as steel output and
consumption of the world's top consumer also push to new highs, an industry
group said on Friday.
Steel demand in China, the world's largest producer and consumer, is
expected to grow modestly next year as steel-consuming sectors except for
shipbuilding improve from 2013, the institute said.
It forecast China's steel output to increase 3.8 percent to a fresh record
of 810 million tonnes from an estimated previous record of 780 million tonnes
for this year. Steel consumption will rise 3.2 percent to a new high of 715
million tonnes from 693 million tonnes, it said.
"The economy both at home and abroad is improving next year, but a
significant recovery will be unlikely," China Metallurgical Industry Planning
and Research Institute, an industry group that provides consultancy for
government policies, said in a statement.
China imported a total of 668.3 million tonnes of iron ore during the first
ten months of this year, up 10 percent from a year earlier, due to strong steel
production, government data showed. Iron ore imports are forecast to hit 800
tonnes for the full year.
Steel output rose 8 percent to 652.5 million tonnes for January-October from
a year earlier.
Though Beijing has vowed to rein in the property sector to cool housing
prices and shift away from heavy investment-driven economic growth, steel demand
from construction including commercial housing, social housing and
infrastructure is still expected to grow 2.4 percent on year to reach 390
million tonnes in 2014.
China is expected to roll out a series of reform plans to maintain steady
economic growth and strengthen investment in infrastructure construction in
less-developed western areas, the institute said.

Below is a table for forecasts between 2013-2014
Unit: million tonnes 2013 y/y pct 2014 y/y pct
(estimated) change (estimated) change
China steel demand 693 6.3 715 3.2
China steel output 780 6.7 810 3.8
China pig iron output 720 7.5 743 3.2
China iron ore demand 1,138 9.4 1,172 3.0
China iron ore imports 800 7.5 850 6.3


(Reporting by Ruby Lian in SHANGHAI, Coco Li and David Stanway in BEIJING;
Editing by Tom Hogue)