China increased iron ore production by 3.3% m/m in May

In May 2023, the production of iron ore in China increased by 3.3% compared to the previous month – to 77.6 million tons. SteelOrbis reports about it with the reference to data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Compared to May 2022, in May 2023, the production of iron ore by Chinese mining companies fell by 2.9%.

In January-May 2023, iron ore production increased by 6.5% compared to the same period in 2022 – up to 391.35 million tons.

During May, iron ore prices remained on a downward trend as steel companies cut steel production, causing demand for the commodity to fall. After a long absence of sustained demand for raw materials, from the end of May, steelmakers began to resume purchases amid rising steel prices, which to some extent boosted iron ore quotations.

Imports to China in January-May increased by 7.7% y/y – up to 480.75 million tons. In May, China imported 96.17 million tons of iron ore, which is 39% more compared to May 2022, and 6.3% more than April 2023.

According to the latest Fitch forecasts, iron ore prices in 2023 will be at the level of $125/t. The forecast was upgraded from $110/t amid market optimism about the recovery of the Chinese economy. In the long term, the agency forecasts a decline in iron ore prices to $50/t by 2028 due to a slowdown in supply and demand growth.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022, China reduced production of iron ore by 1% compared to 2021 – to 967.9 million tons. In December 2022, iron ore production decreased by 1.2% m/m and increased by 2.4% y/y – up to 78.6 million tons.