Melbourne (Platts)--7Nov2012/437 am EST/937 GMT
Iron ore shipments to China from Port Hedland in Western Australia hit a record 17.6 million mt in October, some 2.5 million mt higher than the previous month, data released by the Port Hedland Port Authority on Tuesday showed. The export figure bettered the previous record of 16.7 million mt in August and indicates that Chinese steel mills are restocking ahead of winter after adopting a hand-to-mouth approach to ore buying in recent months. Total iron ore exports from the port, which is used primarily by BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Iron, reached 21.75 million mt, up 9% on September's 19.9 million mt.Article continues below...Request a free trial of Metals DailyPlatts Metals Daily offers prices, news and analysis for the aluminum, copper and molybdenum value chains. It contains hundreds of metals prices across base, minor, light and precious metals assessed by editors globally. This detailed report will help you monitor global events and quickly spot opportunities or potential pitfalls as well as bring you aluminum and copper price and news coverage. Daily prices and news for molybdenum are also covered to deliver critical insights.
Iron ore shipments to China from Port Hedland in Western Australia hit a record 17.6 million mt in October, some 2.5 million mt higher than the previous month, data released by the Port Hedland Port Authority on Tuesday showed. The export figure bettered the previous record of 16.7 million mt in August and indicates that Chinese steel mills are restocking ahead of winter after adopting a hand-to-mouth approach to ore buying in recent months. Total iron ore exports from the port, which is used primarily by BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Iron, reached 21.75 million mt, up 9% on September's 19.9 million mt.
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Platts Metals Daily offers prices, news and analysis for the aluminum, copper and molybdenum value chains. It contains hundreds of metals prices across base, minor, light and precious metals assessed by editors globally. This detailed report will help you monitor global events and quickly spot opportunities or potential pitfalls as well as bring you aluminum and copper price and news coverage. Daily prices and news for molybdenum are also covered to deliver critical insights.
Total shipments in October were up 9.5% on the 19.8 million mt exported in October last year, with the shipments to China 20% higher than the 14.7 million mt sent a year ago. Around 2 million mt of iron ore was shipped to South Korea and 1.4 million mt to Japan in October, compared with 1.9 million mt and 2.1 million mt, respectively, in September. Port Hedland has export capacity of 495 million mt/year but currently operates at around 50% of capacity. BHP has an allocation of 240 million mt/year, which it expects to reach by around 2016 by developing its facility at the port's inner harbor. The Melbourne-headquartered miner exported 159.5 million mt of iron ore in the 12 months to June 30 this year and expects to lift production capacity by 5% over the next 12 months.--Paul Bartholomew, paul_bartholomew@platts.com --Edited by Lisa Miller, lisa_miller@platts.com
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