China's iron ore imports rose 0.8 percent to 53.3 million tonnes in May from the previous month, official data from China's customs authority showed on Friday. Chinese steel mills, which usually consume two-thirds of seaborne iron ore, have raced to expand production since this year, despite Beijing's tightening moves to tame inflation and curb the hot property market.
Imports are expected to fall in June as steelmakers have reduced their forward bookings as the domestic steel market usually declines in the summer season, traders said. "I expect shipments to fall in June as steel mills have axed their buying and consumed more domestic ore to feed demand," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.
Meanwhile, Chinese steel mills are also expected to be affected by the power rationing mainly from June to September, although the impact to production may not be easily assessed. Total imports of iron ore for the first five months rose 8.1 percent to 283.25 million tonnes from a year ago, data showed.
As the world's biggest steel producer, China exported 4.76 million tonnes of finished steel products in May, down a marginal 0.2 percent from April, taking total Jan-May exports to 20.04 million tonnes, up 11.6 from a year earlier. And its steel product imports dropped 6.6 percent to 1.28 million tonnes from April, and the accumulative Jan-May imports was 6.83 million tonnes, down 1.9 percent from the same period of last year.
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