China iron ore imports fall 1.9% in September from August

BEIJING: China's iron ore imports in September fell 1.9% from a month earlier, official customs data showed on Wednesday, as environment-related steel production controls restrained consumption of the steelmaking raw material.

The world's biggest iron ore consumer imported 95.61 million tonnes of the steel-making ingredient last month, versus 97.49 million tonnes in August and 108.55 million tonnes in September 2020, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

In the first three quarters of the year, China brought in 842 million tonnes of iron ore, falling 3% from the same period a year earlier, according to the customs office.

Demand is lacklustre in China due to stringent production controls at mills as Beijing aims to put a lid on annual crude steel output. A recent power crunch across the country also weighed on factory activities.

Iron ore tumbles as China steel curbs are back in focus

"Steel production will continue to be restrained during the heating season and winter Olympics. It will be hard to see any rise in domestic iron ore consumption," analysts with Huatai Futures said in a note before the data was released.

China's steel product exports were 4.92 million tonnes in September, down 2.57% from the previous month, customs data showed, sending its exports for the first nine months to 53.02 million tonnes.

Steel imports last month rose 18.16% from August to 1.26 million tonnes, according to the data. The country's January-September steel imports were 10.72 million tonnes.

Global iron ore shipments picked up last month. Exports from Australia's Port Hedland to China rose 7.6% month-on-month to 38.62 million tonnes in September, data from Pilbara Ports Authority showed.