Iron ore prices increased

While other commodities such as crude oil and copper have also made recent gains, supported by China's recovery narrative, the rally in iron ore appears to be based on real gains in demand.

According to the assessment, the spot price of reference 62% iron ore closed at $126 per ton on January 20.

Iron ore has increased by 7.1% since the beginning of the year, and steel raw material has increased by 59.5% since the $79 per tonne reached on October 31 last year.

China's iron ore imports decreased from 98.85 million tons in November to 90.86 million tons in December, weaker than 94.98 million tons in October.

But December has historically been a soft month for Chinese imports. Last month's result was 5.6% above the December 2021 import level.