Beijing: China’s demand for iron ore this year is expected to reach 1.14bn tons with imports accounting for 770m tons, Li Xinchuang, deputy secretary-general of the China Steel Association, said during an industry conference yesterday.
Imports have increased from 91.57m tons in 2001 to 744m in 2012, accounting for more than 70% of domestic iron ore supply, Li said.
Although the iron ore import volume will increase this year, the association reckons iron ore prices will decline this year.
In a recent research note Clarkson noted how December’s iron imports were a record 70.9m tons and January imports were also “pretty firm” at 65.5m tonnes.
“Signs of a macroeconomic improvement in China has raised the possibility of a greater iron ore import requirement driven by fundamental demand. To some extent, the ability of the seaborne market to meet any such improvement is restricted, given supply side problems, notably in India. This could be a severe limiting factor, but for the time being, the short-term outlook for Chinese demand seems brighter than it has for a while,” Clarkson wrote. [02/04/13]
