Iron ore imports to China show no signs of slowing in October and may even approach record highs, indicating that experts' concerns about a decline in Chinese steel production in the winter are distrustful.
Ship and port tracking data compiled by Refinitiv indicate that imports of ore used for steel production will exceed 100 million tonnes in October.
Before that, imports of iron ore to China exceeded 100 million tons twice in a month - in September 2017 and in January 2018.
Official customs data showed that imports for September totaled 99.4 million tons, a 20-month high.
However, the continued rise in imports of iron ore is somewhat at odds with the fall in September steel production to its lowest level in six months.
China's steel production last month was 82.77 million tons, down 5.4% from the previous month, the lowest level since March, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
According to official figures, China produced 747.82 million tons of steel in the first nine months of this year, which is 8.4% more than in the same period last year.
While profits have declined in steel mills this year, demand appears to continue to rise, especially in residential construction.
This means that steel mills still have incentive to grow production and are likely to strive to keep iron ore reserves sufficient.
