Production increased by 9.4% compared
to October
Iron
ore production in China in January-November 2022 decreased by 0.5% compared to
the same period in 2021 – to 889 million tons. Steel Orbis reports about it
with the reference to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China
(NBS).
In
November, iron ore production increased by 0.6% compared to November 2021 – up
to 76.53 million tons. Compared to October 2022, production increased by 9.4%.
Ahead
of Chinese New Year, market participants believe that steel producers need to
build up iron ore inventories, which is likely to push up iron ore prices.
As GMK Center reported earlier, iron ore
futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange on December 16-23, 2022, became cheaper by 2.05% compared to the previous
week – to 825 yuan/t ($118.18/t). Thus, the quotations fell slightly after
seven weeks of growth. January iron ore futures on the Singapore Exchange
increased by 0.8% compared to the price as of December 16, 2022, – up to
$110.75/t. Iron ore prices eased slightly amid investor uncertainty over
China’s zero-policy policy to control the coronavirus. The spread of disease
outbreaks could hamper the recovery of the world’s second-largest economy.
Also, Fitch Ratings confirmed the predictions regarding iron ore
prices for the current, 2023 and 2024 years. The world demand for steel continues
to slow down, but the steel market is not overcrowded – the decrease in
supplies from Ukraine and the Russian Federation is compensated by the drop in
demand in Europe and other regions. It is predicted that by the end of 2022,
the price of iron ore will be $115/t, in 2023 – $85/t, and in 2024 – $75/t.