UK's iron ore imports surged in September; YTD exports down 30%

By Carolina Curiel

CANTERBURY (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by the HM Revenue & Customs indicate that iron ore imports by the UK increased marginally during the month of September this year. On the other hand, the imports during the initial nine-month period from January to September this year were down sharply when matched with the previous year.

The UK iron ore imports during September this year totaled 847,462 tons, rising marginally by 6.2% when compared with the imports during the same month a year before. The imports had totaled 798,081 tons during September 2015. The average price of import too rose slightly to $65.30 per ton when matched with the average import price of $60.9 per ton during September last year. Also, the total value of imports increased significantly by 13.9% from $48.575 million to $55.322 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to the UK during the month was Canada. The imports from the country totaled 417,882 tons, accounting for a little over 49% of the total monthly imports. The imports from Canada averaged at $65.3 per ton. The total value of imports from the country totaled $27.270 million. The other key exporters during the month were Brazil (231,707 tons), Sweden (171,212 tons) and Morocco (26,648 tons). The imports from Brazil and Sweden were valued at $13.525 million and $13.132 million respectively.

The agglomerated iron ore imports during September ’16 totaled 166,544 tons, rising marginally by 3.9% over the previous year. Sweden was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to the UK during the month with 125,812 tons. Canada exported 40,732 tons of iron ore during the month.

The UK’s non-agglomerated iron ore imports totaled 680,918 tons, increasing marginally by 6.8% from 637,762 tons in September 2015. Canada was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The imports from the country totaled 377,150 tons. The other key exporters were Brazil (231,707 tons), Sweden (45,400 tons) and Morocco (26,648 tons). The average price of monthly imports was up marginally by 9.7% during the month to $60.60 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $41.259 million.

The UK iron ore imports during January to September this year totaled 7.133 million tons, declining considerably by nearly 29.5% when compared with the exports during the corresponding period a year before. The imports had totaled 10.123 million tons during Jan-September 2015. The average price of imports dropped significantly by nearly 8% to $59.50 per ton when matched with the average import price of $64.60 per ton during the initial nine-month period last year. Also, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 35% year-on-year from $654.132 million to $424.636 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to the UK during the nine-month period was Brazil. The imports from the country totaled 2.432 million tons, accounting for nearly 34% of the total imports. The imports from Brazil averaged at $49.4 per ton. The total value of imports from the country totaled $120.217 million. The other key exporters during Jan-Sep ’16 were Sweden (2.091 million tons), Canada (1.635 million tons) and Norway (380,852 tons).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during Jan-September ’16 totaled 2.435 million tons, dropping sharply by nearly 20% 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 4.699 million tons during the nine-month period from January to September this year, dropping sharply by 34% from 7.096 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 2.432 million tons. The other key exporters were Canada (1.132 million tons), Norway (380,852 tons) and Sweden (223,864 tons). The average price of monthly imports was down considerably by 8.6% to $52.10 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $244.874 million.