According to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China, China's iron ore production continued its downward trend in May, falling by 4% year on year to 85.8 million tons, which was the eleventh consecutive month of decline. The output in the first five months reached 414 million tons, a year-on-year drop of 10%.

Statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China showed that iron ore imports totaled 98.13 million tons in May, remaining below 100 million tons for the fifth straight month. Total imports for the first five months were down by 5.2% year on year to 486 million tons.

In the January-May period, pig iron output was approximately 363 million tons, a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.1%. Crude steel output was around 432 million tons, down by 1.7% year on year.