China June Iron Ore Imports Estimated to See Slower Growth

China's iron ore imports are estimated to slow down the growth pace in June as the recent surge of sea freight and spot iron ore price have suppressed Chinese traders' enthusiasm in imports.

The latest data from Australia Port Hedland show that its iron ore shipments to China reached 9.3 million tons in June, down 11.5 percent from the peak of 10.6 million tons in May.

An Australian media report said on July 9 that China's iron ore imports from Brazil went down 16 percent and its imports from India also displayed downward trend.

Du Wei, an analyst with Umetal, earlier noted that with the coming rainy season in India, its iron ore exports would also slide.

China imports iron ore mainly from Brazil, Australia, and India. Its iron ore imports from the three countries in May made up about 84 percent of the country's total.

Zhou Xizeng, an analyst with Citic Securities, said that China's iron ore stocks at ports stay around 70 million tons while enterprises' stocks are estimated to reach 10 million-30 million tons. Therefore, China has the ability to satisfy its iron ore demand without imports for three months if calculated with the average imports in the first five months, Zhou added.

China's iron ore imports soared in the January-May period, which had boosted the sea freight and the spot iron ore price.

Since May, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), an international composite freight indicator, has displayed rallying trend and hit 4,078 points in June, the peak from October last year.

The Indian fine ore price has jumped by 14.2 percent from 69-71 U.S. dollars/ton in a month earlier to 81-82 U.S. dollars. The price hike has already scared away some traders.

According to Du, iron ore imports will drop moderately in June and start to decline sharply from July.