China to import 424m tonnes of iron ore in 2009: Macquarie

Sydney: China will import around 424m tonnes of iron ore in 2009 on the back of a 3% increase in steel production to 463m t for the year, Macquarie Research has forecast.

In its Shipping Outlook for 2009, the Sydney-headquartered investment bank estimated that 55% of China's iron ore will come from Australia, 25% from Brazil, and 20% from India. It forecast that China will increasingly turn to cheaper iron ore imports next year and produce around 100m t of domestic ore, costing around $100/t. [18/12/08]