China increased its iron ore imports in the first quarter

In March, China imported 100.23 million tons of iron ore, which is 10.6% more than February 2023 and 14.8% more than March 2022.

With the effect of the improvement in end-user demand, finished steel prices, which supported the increase in iron ore imports and raw material prices, followed an upward trend until mid-March 2023. At the end of March, unexpectedly for market participants, the trend reversed due to the decline in demand and steel prices.

At the beginning of April, steel prices decreased further due to the steel mills' capacity increase despite weak demand.

According to forecasts, iron ore prices will decrease to $90/tonne by the end of 2023 and the tension in the raw material market will ease in the second half of 2023. The main reason for the decrease in prices will be the growth of raw material stocks as supplies from Brazil, India and possibly the Russian Federation and Ukraine recover. At the same time, iron ore consumption will be lower than supply.