Is the End of Winter Curbs Supporting China’s Iron Ore Imports?

Since China contributes more than 70% of seaborne-traded iron ore, investors should track the country’s demand to gauge the commodity’s outlook. After falling 9.8% YoY (year-over-year) in March, China’s iron ore imports inched up by 0.8% in April to 82.9 million tons. Chinese steel mills opened up in mid-March after winter production curbs were lifted, which may have boosted volumes slightly. However, this rise was not significant—although analysts were expecting volumes to improve sequentially, they fell 3.8%.