China's iron ore imports and steel exports hit records

According to the latest customs data, Chinese imports of iron ore in December increased 17 percent from the previous month. In December 2015, imports totaled 96.27 million tons, up from 82.130 million tons in November. The country's annual imports of iron ore rose 2.2 percent, totaling 952.72 million tonnes in 2015, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Iron ore imports are likely to fall during 2016 amid a slowdown in the domestic economy and tight pollution control, as well as a program to cut steel output throughout the year. The country's steel production fell by 3.1 percent to 781 million tonnes in 2015. According to government research, steel production is likely to continue to fall further this year. Weak demand is expected to continue. In addition, a bearish outlook for iron ore prices is likely to restrict raw material imports. Iron ore prices have already dropped more than 40 percent over the past year.

A metal industry planning report released in early December by a research institute predicted a 4.2 percent drop in Chinese iron ore consumption to a total of 1.07 billion tonnes in 2016.

The country's iron ore imports also grew significantly during November 2015, by almost 22 percent over the year. Imports jumped from 67.395 million tons in November 2014 to 82.130 million tons in November last year.

Meanwhile, exports of Chinese steel products rose nearly 11 percent to 10.66 million tons in December 2015. For the full year 2015, exports increased by almost 20 percent to 112.4 million tons.