China's ROM iron ore output rises 7% y-o-y in Jan-Aug'23

China produced a total of 659.2 million tonnes of run-of-mine (ROM) iron ore over January-August, or 7% higher than during the corresponding period of last year, the latest data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. Also, the on-year rise enlarged slightly from the 6.5% recorded in July.

For August alone, China's ROM iron ore output increased to a five-month high of 86.3 million tonnes, with the volume growing for the fourth straight month though by a small 0.7% from July, according to the NBS data.

Late last month, some iron ore miners in North China's Hebei and Southwest China gradually resumed mining operations on their facilities after the previous maintenance stoppage, as reported.

Most miners in other regions of the country, however, just maintained their normal pace of production during August, Mysteel Global noted. "These miners showed little inclination to produce more actively because they had to sell their ore stocks at lower prices," a Shanghai-based market source remarked.

Chinese steelmakers took a tough stance on bringing down their procurement prices of domestic iron ore last month, arguing that they earned less money on selling some finished steel products or even slipped into losses, as reported.

Consequently, iron ore miners in many regions across the country had to clip their selling prices of the feedstock, sources observed. For example, the offering price of 66% Fe grade iron ore concentrates in Tangshan in Hebei province had fallen to Yuan 1,076/dmt ($147.6/dmt) EXW and including the 13% VAT by August 31, down by Yuan 13/dmt on month, Mysteel's assessment showed.

On the other hand, although Chinese steelmakers turned more cautious about procuring domestic iron ore last month due to their poor margins, their immediate need for the raw material remained solid, Mysteel Global noted.

As a result, the total stocks of domestic iron ore concentrates held by the 186 Chinese mining companies Mysteel regular checks shrank to 1.1 million tonnes during August 11-24, losing a notable 22% on month.

Written by Lea Li, liye@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.