By Carolina Curiel

ESSEX (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by the HM Revenue & Customs indicate that iron ore imports by the UK declined significantly during the month of October last year. Also, the cumulative imports during the initial ten-month period from January to October in 2016 were down sharply by 31.4% when matched with the previous year.

The UK iron ore imports during October last year totaled 390,953 tons, falling sharply by 54.1% when compared with the imports during the same month a year before. The imports had totaled 852,237 tons during October 2015. Meantime, the average price of import rose slightly to $64.10 per ton when matched with the average import price of $58.9 per ton during October 2015. The total value of imports reduced by 50% from $50.185 million to $25.078 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to the UK during the month was Canada. The imports from the country totaled 159,814 tons, accounting for a little over 40% of the total monthly imports. The imports from Canada averaged at $67.1 per ton. The total value of imports from the country totaled $10.718 million. The other key exporters during the month were Brazil (157,694 tons), Russia (64,673 tons), Sweden (8,679 tons) and Norway (47 tons). The imports from Brazil and Russia were valued at $9.331 million and $4.234 million respectively.

The agglomerated iron ore imports by the UK in Oct ’16 totaled zero, as against the imports of 513,298 tons during October 2015.

The UK’s non-agglomerated iron ore imports totaled 390,953 tons, increasing marginally by 15.3% from 338,939 tons in October 2015. Canada was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The imports from the country totaled 159,814 tons. The other key exporters were Brazil (157,694 tons), Russia (64,673 tons), Sweden (8,679 tons) and Norway (47 tons). The average price of monthly imports was up considerably by 29.2% during the month to $64.10 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $25.078 million.

The UK iron ore imports during January to October last year totaled 7.524 million tons, declining considerably by nearly 31.4% when compared with the imports during the corresponding period a year before. The imports had totaled 10.975 million tons during Jan-October 2015. The average price of imports dropped significantly by nearly 7.5% to $59.40 per ton when matched with the average import price of $64.20 per ton during the initial ten-month period last year. Also, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 36.6% year-on-year from $704.317 million to $449.714 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to the UK during the ten-month period was Brazil. The imports from the country totaled 2.590 million tons, accounting for over 34% of the total imports. The imports from Brazil averaged at $50.0 per ton. The total value of imports from the country totaled $129.547 million. The other key exporters during Jan-Oct ’16 were Sweden (2.100 million tons), Canada (1.795 million tons) and Norway (380,900 tons).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during Jan-October ’16 totaled 2.435 million tons, dropping sharply by nearly 31.2% over the previous year. Sweden was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to the UK during this period. The imports from Sweden totaled 1.867 million tons, followed by Canada with 503,528 tons.

The UK’s non-agglomerated iron ore imports totaled 5.090 million tons during the ten-month period from January to October last year, dropping sharply by 31.5% from 7.435 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 2.590 million tons. The other key exporters were Canada (1.292 million tons), Norway (380,852 tons) and Russia (253,049 tons). The average price of monthly imports was down by 6.4% to $53.0 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $269.952 million.