China January iron ore imports fall

China, the world’s biggest buyer of iron ore, reported a 7.4 per cent drop in imports in January from a month earlier because of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Imports were 59.32 million metric tonnes last month, the General Administration of Customs said on its website. That compares with 64.09 million tonnes in December, and 68.97 million tonnes of a year earlier, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Chinese customs were shut during the weeklong holiday, delaying clearance of iron ore shipments, said Xu Guangjian, a Shanghai-based analyst with researcher Umetal.com. Last year, the Lunar New Year holiday started Feb. 2, and imports in February 2011 fell 29 per cent from a month earlier.

Iron ore prices for immediate delivery have gained 3.3 per cent this year to $142.80 a tonne as of Thursday on expectations demand may rise as Chinese construction resumes after the New Year holiday, which ended January 29. China increased imports of the raw material used in steelmaking by 11 per cent last year to 686 million tonnes.

Steel-product exports were little changed at 3.73 million tonnes last month compared with 3.72 million tonnes in December, according to the customs data. Shipments rose 20 per cent from 3.12 million tonnes of a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.