Australia's iron ore exports rise in August

Australia's iron ore exports in August rose against the previous month and a year earlier as Western Australia's (WA) Port Hedland increased shipments.

Australia exported 76.7mn t of iron ore in August, up by 4.9pc from the revised 73.1mn t in July and up by 4.6pc from a year earlier, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) supplied through GTT.

Port Hedland shipped 47.8mn t in August, up from 43.74mn t in July and 45.8mn t in August 2022, according to Pilbara Ports Authority data.

Iron ore shipments from Australia rose to 589.9mn t during January-August, up by 2.6pc from a year earlier.

Australia's shipments to China in August increased by 4.8pc from the previous month and by 5.1pc against a year earlier to 64.3mn t. January-August deliveries rose by 3.6pc on the back of lower shipments to other markets. Exports to China accounted for 84.5pc of Australia's total iron ore exports during January-August, up by nearly 1pc from a year earlier.

Australia exported 18.56mn t of lump and 57.87mn t of fines to all destinations in August, down from 18.75mn t of lump but up from 53.99mn t of fines in July.

The Argus ICX seaborne fines price for 62pc Fe ore delivered to China averaged $109.30/dry metric tonne (dmt) cfr Qingdao in August, down from $112.96/dmt in July but up from $104.84/dmt in August last year. Firm Chinese steel output and positive import margins of seaborne cargoes helped to support August prices.

The Argus ICX iron ore index was at $119.05/dmt cfr Qingdao on a 62pc Fe basis on 4 October, up from $117.50/dmt on 31 August. Argus assessed 58pc Fe at $108.50/dmt on 4 October, up from $103.70/dmt on 31 August.

By Kitty Xie

Iron ore grade spreads ($/dmt)