Iron ore spooks Vale

David Llewellyn-Smith

Monday 19 October 2026

Iron ore bottomed out Friday. We are headed into seasonal tailwinds before long.

Chinese steel exports were up 0.3% YOY in September. YTD is down 2.4%. This headwind is fading.

Chinese iron ore imports were down 5.5% YOY but up 4.1% YTD.

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.