Iron ore prices are tumbling

The bonanza that saw a decades-long rise in iron ore prices is all but over, as China shies away from heavy investment and housing construction and pivots towards a service economy


CHINA IMPORT PRICE FOR IRON ORE ($ per tonne)

250				JUN 2021
200				215.80
150					AUG 2024
100					93.90
50	JAN 1995	DEC 2015 
0	12.30		40.90
	1995	2000	2010	2020 	2024

Slowdown in  construction in China

Change in China’s economic policy


2023 STEEL PRODUCTION (global market share, %)

CHINA 54
OTHER 34
INDIA 7
JAPAN 5


China’s industrialisation boom in early 2000s saw commodities such as oil and coal surge in value, but iron ore gained the most, rising by 937% from mid-1990s levels


Source: Bloomberg 
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