China, which buys about two-thirds of global seaborne supplies, is continuing to import at a robust pace, with Refinitiv data estimating 101.6 million tonnes were offloaded in October.
The Refinitiv vessel-tracking and port data doesn’t align exactly with official customs data, given slight differences in when cargoes are assessed as having been discharged.
The official numbers also include a small volume of iron ore that arrives overland from neighbouring countries.
Nonetheless, the likelihood is that China’s iron ore imports remained above the 100 million tonne level for a fifth consecutive month in October, and remain on track to post a record high for the year as a whole.
This is despite the weakness in the first and early in the second quarter, as Beijing locked down much of the country’s economy to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.
China’s steel industry is likely to produce more than a billion tonnes in 2020, the first time that level will have been breached, as stimulus spending keeps demand high from the infrastructure and construction sectors.
