UPDATE 2-China March iron ore imports fall from monthly peak
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money.ninemsn.com.au
BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) - China's March iron ore imports slid 6.6 percent from the previous month's record high, with more gradual declines likely after heavy buying in the first quarter ahead of expected price increases for the fiscal year from April.
Annual talks to set term-contract iron ore prices have extended into the new fiscal year from April 1, as Australian miners seek a premium on the top of a 65 percent price increase for iron ore concentrate agreed to by their Brazilian rival.
Iron ore imports in March fell to 35.68 million tonnes from a monthly record of 38.21 million tonnes the month before, customs data showed on Friday.
China's iron ore imports for the first three months of the year totalled 110.66 million tonnes, up 10.5 percent from the same period in 2007.
"I feel that import bookings from some speculative traders declined at the end of February after the first set of term prices settled," said analyst Henry Liu at Macquarie Bank, adding that imports nevertheless remain strong due to Chinese demand.
Although March arrivals were the lowest so far this year, they were still above any month last year except for January, as Chinese steel output steadily expands.
China's crude steel output is expected to rise 6 to 10 percent in 2008 to 520 million to 540 million tonnes, industry officials have said, although Beijing is seeking to slow the industry's growth as part of a drive to curb expansion in energy-intensive and polluting industries.
March steel product exports grew 33.8 percent from the previous month to 4.16 million tonnes, after tumbling in February.
Early this month, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said March steel product exports were likely to pick up from February, when exports were their lowest since April 2006, with help from strong demand in Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.
Steel product exports for the first quarter totalled 11.39 million tonnes, down 19.3 percent year-on-year, partly reflecting Beijing's efforts to slow exports of energy- and raw material-intensive products such as steel. (Reporting by Alfred Cang, Nao Nakanishi; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Nigel Hunt) |
