SHANGHAI, Sep 9 (SMM) – China’s imports of iron ores and concentrates rose for a second straight month to 94.85 million mt in August, marking the highest level of monthly imports since January 2018, the General Administration of Customs reported on Sunday September 8.

August’s imports were 6.2% from a year ago and 4.2% from a month ago.

In the first eight months of 2019, China imported 684.85 million mt of iron ore, down 3.5% from the same period last year.

Exports of steel products from the world’s biggest steel producer, however, dropped to the lowest since February last month, standing at 5 million mt, with a year-over-year decline of 14.8%.

Steel product exports in January-August declined 4.4% from a year ago to 44.97 million mt.

Data from The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) showed that China’s steel output exceeded 900 million mt in 2018, accounting for 50% of the world’s total.