China’s imports of iron ore in September rose 3.6% from the previous month, customs data showed on Monday, as steel mills ramped up output heading into peak construction season.
The top iron ore consumer brought in 99.71 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material last month, up from August’s 96.21 million tonnes, the General Administration of Customs said.
It was also up from the 95.61 million tonnes imported in September 2021.
Chinese steel mills raised blast furnace utilisation rates during September in preparation for the peak construction season, reaching operation rates last seen in June.
Steel prices had been expected to rebound in October with market fundamentals improving and government economic support policies gaining traction.
For the January to September period, China imported 822.5 million tonnes of iron ore, down 2.3% from the same period a year ago.
China’s steel product exports last month were 4.98 million tonnes, up from 4.92 million tonnes in September 2021.
Exports in the first eight months of the year were down 3.4% from the same period a year ago to 51.21 million tonnes.
Source: Reuters
Source: Reuters
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