Brazil iron ore sales to China at record in July

Mon Aug 3, 2009 2:37am EDT
SEOUL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Spot iron ore vessel bookings from Brazil to China jumped to a record in July and shipments from Australia picked up towards the end of the month, according to data specialist ASXMarine, signalling demand from the world's top steelmaker is firm even after record imports in the first half.
Shipments from Brazil, the second-largest iron ore supplier to China after Australia, surged to a record 39, from 24 last month, suggesting China's insatiable demand for overseas ore remained intact and complicating its attempts to win a better pricing deal.
Vessel bookings from Australia's main iron ore ports to China collapsed until late July after China detained four Shanghai-based iron ore employees of Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) over spy allegations.
But trade picked up in the final week to take total July fixtures to 31, still down from 40 the previous month and the lowest reading since February.
China Iron and Steel Association, the defacto negotiator for the country's steel mills in annual term iron ore price talks, said last week that excess iron ore imports were a serious hindrance in this year's marathon talks. [ID:nPEK111262]
China's iron ore imports jumped 29 percent in the first six months of this year to 297 million tonnes, although the pace is expected to slow to around 236 million tonnes in the second half as soaring spot prices encourage the reopening of idled domestic mines. [ID:nSEO144756]
Spot iron ore prices have broken above $100 a tonne delivered China for the first time in nine months, as small and medium-sized mills rushed to increase imports and pushed steel output to record daily rates.
"While Chinese steel mills have not yet agreed to a 2009 benchmark price, we believe that negotiations should be coming to a halt soon as benchmark prices today are substantially cheaper than spot," JP Morgan analysts said in a report on Sunday. (Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Michael Urquhart)