Prices for the red metal increased to $US152.45 on February 3, after a shortfall earlier in the week.

Mysteel reported that Australian iron ore fines dropped by $US6.85 per dry metric tonne to $US149.55 per dry metric tonne on February 2 2021.

According to Fastmarkets MB, the spot price fell to 4.6 per cent to $US149.80 per tonne.

In January, iron ore prices reached $US172.6 per tonne, according to MySteel’s index for the 62 per cent iron ore Australian fine price on January 18.

China produced more than a billion tonnes of crude steel in 2020 due to increased industrial demand from stimulus packages which increased the commodity’s price.

China imported 1.17 billion tonnes of iron ore last year which surpassed its 1.075 billion-tonne record in 2017, according to China’s Customs Administration.

Fortescue Metals Group’s share price is down by $0.080 to $22.580 per share at the time of writing, while BHP’s price is down $0.110 to $44.020.