BHP sees China steel demand to stay firm but not for iron ore

Singapore

WHILE consumption of steel in China will continue to grow into the next decade, demand for iron ore will fall as the country turns to using more scrap in its steel production, according to BHP Billiton, one of the largest iron ore exporters in the world.

At the Singapore Iron Ore Week forum on Thursday, BHP Billiton vice- president of marketing Vicky Binns said that the group remains positive on China's steel consumption till the middle of the next decade.

Steel inventory in China, the largest producer and consumer in the world, significantly lags behind those of developed countries, and is only half of the levels in t…