Chinese iron ore imports to rise by 90Mt in 2014
(Minews) - An environmental clamp-down on high-polluting Chinese steel plants will neither curb growth in domestic steel-production or cut seaborne imports of iron ore, which are predicted to rise by a further 90Mt in 2014 to a record 921Mt, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Steel plants in some Chinese regions have been told to slash capacity, as well as idle coke batteries and sintering operations as part of push to cut emissions that are viewed as a source of toxic smog enveloping Beijing and Shanghai.
But Wood Mackenzie said there is plenty of unused capacity within China’s steel industry ready to replace any lost production due to shut-downs resulting from harsher emissions controls.
The energy consultancy added: “The iron market is understandably spooked …by the introduction of environmental controls and their potential financial impact on the steel industry…..and this has caused price volatility will prices plunging to 17-month lows in recent weeks, before picking up again recently.
“However during the remainder of 2014, we expect that fighting emissions will have negligible impact on total Chinese crude steel production and limited impact on iron ore demand in terms of quantity.”
Earlier this week, Australia’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics predicted that iron ore spot prices will fall 30% over the next five years due to increased supply of the steel-making mineral.
Publish date : Tuesday 1 April 2014 20:16
Story Code: 6019
