PILBARA: Iron ore exports to China from Australia’s Port Hedland climbed to a record last month as suppliers increased output through the world’s largest bulk-export terminal.
Shipments rose 15 per cent to 33.9 million metric tons (MT) from 29.5 million tons in July and compared with 32 million tons a year earlier, according to data from the Pilbara Ports Authority. Total iron ore exports reached 39.2 million tons, also an all-time high, from 35.3 million tons a month earlier and 37.4 million tons in August 2014, the data showed.
Low-cost producers in Australia including BHP Billiton, which routes its cargoes through Port Hedland, are intent on expanding output to boost sales and cut costs while smaller mines shut. Iron ore tumbled in early July to the lowest level in at least six years as the jump in supplies coincided with faltering demand from China. Supply will probably diverge further from demand in the coming months, Goldman Sachs Group said August 14.
“The increase in Australian iron ore supply has been quite remarkable,” Ralph Leszczynski, head of research in Singapore at Banchero Costa & Co, a Genoa-based shipbroker, said before the data were released. “They’ve managed to drive out of the market many of the smaller producers.”
Ore with 62 per cent content at Qingdao increased 0.2 per cent to $US56.70 a ton on Wednesday, according to data from Metal Bulletin Ltd. The raw material climbed 5.2 per cent in August, having bottomed at $US44.59 a ton on July 8.
Prices were supported last month by restocking from Chinese steel mills and lean inventory levels, according to Singapore Exchange, a clearer of iron ore swaps. Inventories at Chinese ports fell for three consecutive weeks to 80.45 million tons at the end of August, the lowest in two months, according to Shanghai Steelhome Information Technology Co.
The record August exports may have been in part to compensate for a drop in July cargoes. Shipments that month fell 9.6 per cent from June to the lowest level since November.
