China’s demand for steel keeps on growing and as a result Sinosteel, China’s second largest producer of steel, expects iron ore prices to increase by as much as 25% next year. This is more than the 19.5% increase in 2006 but much less than the 71.5% increase in 2005. China has been the largest consumer of steel in the world since 2003 when they overtook Japan. China imported an estimated 325 million tons of iron ore in 2006 and this number is expected to grow by 10-15% in 2007.

Sources:

Bloomberg

China Daily