BEIJING: China’s iron ore imports in March jumped by 11.5% from the year before, thanks to higher shipments from Australia and seasonal restocking among steelmakers in anticipation of better demand.
The world’s largest iron ore consumer brought in 104.74 million metric tons of the key steelmaking ingredient last month, data from the country’s General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.
That compared to 93.97 million tons in March 2025 and 97.64 million tons in February.
The annual increase in iron ore imports last month followed increasing volumes from Australia where the weather-related impact was not as severe as seen last year, said Steven Yu, a senior analyst at consultancy Mysteel. Cyclones in Australia last year disrupted iron ore loadings.
Higher imports led to a pile-up in portside inventory, which were 165.08 million tons by late March, 20% higher than the same period in the prior year, data from consultancy Steelhome showed.
Seaborne iron ore prices were $106.10 a ton in late March, up 8.8% month-on-month and 5% year-on-year, Steelhome data showed.
Iron ore imports in the first quarter climbed 10.5% year-on-year to 314.76 million tons.
China’s steel exports in March slid by 12.6% from the year earlier to 9.14 million tons, bringing the first-quarter total to 24.72 million tons, down 9.9%from a year earlier.
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