Iron ore price rose on Tuesday after customs data showed China's iron ore imports rose 14.6 percent month on month in November, the highest level since July 2020.
The world's largest consumer of iron ore brought in 104.96 million tons last month from 91.61 million imports in October, also up 6.9 percent from November 2020, according to Customs General Administration data.
According to Fastmarkets MB, 62% Fe-containing product imported into northern China was changing hands at $111.34 per tonne, up 8.8% from Monday's close.
"November import data may have been affected by the customs clearance factor," said Tang Binghua, Founding CIFCO Futures analyst in Beijing. He added that iron ore shipments and arrivals have not changed significantly in recent months.
"The surprise in the import growth came from a recovery in the volume of commodities, possibly reflecting increased demand for infrastructure investment spending as local governments increased stimulus towards the end of the year," said Michelle Lam, China economist at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong. said.
Imported iron ore inventories at Chinese ports rose for 10 consecutive weeks, jumping to 155.5 million tons last week, reaching the highest level since mid-2018, according to data from consulting firm Mysteel.
In the first 11 months of the year, China imported 1.04 billion tons of iron ore, down 3.2 percent year on year.
China's total imports increased by about 32% to $254 billion. Economists had predicted that imports would increase by 21.5%.
Exports increased by 22% on dollar basis compared to the previous year and reached 326 billion dollars.
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