By Carolina Curiel (ScrapMonster Author)

April 28, 2016 05:24:19 AM

ROME (Scrap Monster): The most recent statistics released by the Italian Steel Federation (Federacciai) suggests sharp decline in iron ore imports by the country during the year 2015, in comparison with the year before. The import price of the steel making raw material has also declined considerably during the year.

The iron ore imports by the country totaled 8.08 million tons during 2015. The imports were down significantly by 15.1% when compared with the year before. The Italian iron ore imports had totaled 9.52 million tons during 2014. The import price of iron ore plunged heavily by 37.3% year-on-year to $67.8 per ton in 2015. The import prices had averaged at $108.1 per ton during 2014.

The largest exporter of iron ore to Italy during 2015 was Brazil. The imports from Brazil totaled 6.343 million tons, accounting for over 78% of the total imports by Italy during the year. The import prices of iron ore from Brazil averaged at $70.5 per ton. The second largest source of imports was Mauritania with 1.335 million tons. The imports from the country constituted nearly 17% of the total Italian imports. The import prices from Mauritania averaged at $53.8 per ton during 2015.

Meantime, data suggests that global iron import shipments had peaked in 2015 at just under 1.2 billion tonnes. The volume growth is expected to remain flat in 2016 and is expected to rise to just under 1.4 billion tonnes by 2024. Also, World Bank in its quarterly report has predicted that iron ore prices are likely to rise further during the five years through 2020. The prices are expected to trade at $50 per metric ton during the current year. It predicts the prices to touch $51.50 per metric ton by 2017 and $56.20 per metric ton by 2020.