Despite poor construction sector leading to a morose steel industry, iron ore imports and blast-furnace activity in China have remained record-high! Indeed, whilst recent steel prices have kept steel margins in China thin, favouring large-scale blast-furnaces over smaller electric-arc furnaces, recent iron ore prices have not averaged high enough (avg. ~110$/t basis 62%-Fe, excl. VAT) to sustain local iron ore mining economics… Hence current destocking & healthy imports!
If you would like to get more information on this topic and the impact on the freight market, please reach out to us on: [email protected].