UK’s iron ore imports dropped 17% in April; YTD imports down 32%

EDGWARE (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by the HM Revenue & Customs indicate that iron ore imports by the UK dropped significantly during the month of April this year. The imports during the four-month period from January to April this year too were down sharply when matched with the previous year.

The UK iron ore imports during April this year totaled 700,637 tons, dropping significantly by 16.5% when compared with the exports during the same month a year before. The imports had totaled 838,700 tons during April 2015. The average price of import remained nearly flat at $60.1 per ton when matched with the average import price of $60.6 per ton during April last year. However, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 17% from $50.804 million to $42.142 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to the UK during the month was Brazil. The imports from the country totaled 187,003 tons, accounting for nearly 27% of the total monthly imports. The imports from Brazil averaged at $52.3 per ton. The total value of imports from the country totaled $9.772 million. The other key exporters during the month were Sweden (293,485 tons), Canada (156,359 tons) and Russia (63,763 tons).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during April ’16 totaled 277,973 tons, rising sharply by 47% over the previous year. Sweden was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to the UK during the month with 277,973 tons.

The UK’s non-agglomerated iron ore imports totaled 422,664 tons, dropping sharply by 35% from 649,759 tons in April 2015. Brazil was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The imports from the country totaled 187,003 tons. The other key exporters were Canada (156,333 tons), Russia (63,763 tons) and Sweden (15,512 tons). The average price of monthly imports was up marginally by 4.3% during the month to $56.40 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $23.826 million.

The UK iron ore imports during January to April this year totaled 2.763 million tons, declining considerably by nearly 32% when compared with the exports during the corresponding period a year before. The imports had totaled 4.057 million tons during Jan-April 2015. The average price of imports dropped significantly by over 20% to $54.40 per ton when matched with the average import price of $68.10 per ton during the initial four-month period last year. Also, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 46% year-on-year from $276.44 million to $150.33 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to the UK during the four-month period was Brazil. The imports from the country totaled 979,552 tons, accounting for more than 35% of the total imports. The imports from Brazil averaged at $54.4 per ton. The total value of imports from the country totaled $150.334 million. The other key exporters during Jan-Apr ’16 were Sweden (840,792 tons), Canada (631,174 tons) and Norway (193,492 tons).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during Jan-April ’16 totaled 1.012 million tons, dropping marginally by nearly 3% over the previous year. Sweden was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to the UK during this period. The imports from Sweden totaled 754,389 tons, followed by Canada with 258,099 tons.

The UK’s non-agglomerated iron ore imports totaled 1.750 million tons during the four-month period from January to April this year, dropping sharply by 42% from 3.017 million tons during the same period a year before. Brazil was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during this period. The imports from the country totaled 979,552 tons. The other key exporters were Canada (373,075 tons), Norway (193,492 tons) and Sweden (86,403 tons). The average price of monthly imports was down considerably by 24.2% to $45.80 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $80.135 million.