Japan imported 7mn t of iron ore in May, down by 16pc on the year, according to preliminary data released by the country's finance ministry on 18 June.
Imports also fell by around 18pc on the month.
Japan's iron ore import price was $106.41, down by 15pc from a year earlier. The average yen-dominated price was ¥15,327 ($105.60), down by 21pc on the year.
The year-on-year decline in imports can be partly attributed to the suspension of a steel production facility by the country's second-largest steel producer JFE Steel. JFE halted operations at its basic oxygen furnace in the country's western Kurashiki city in mid-May because of lower steel demand. The suspension would reduce its crude steel output by as much as 15pc or around 3.9mn t/yr, JFE told Argus.
