2011-02-23 16:37

China's iron ore supplies may have a surplus of more than a 70 million tons this year, the China Securities Journal reported Wednesday, citing Wu Xinchun, deputy secretary-general of the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA).

Wu also predicted that the iron ore price bubble might burst in March or April.

It is conservatively estimated that the output of iron ore products will reach 405 million tons this year, a 37-million-ton increase compared to the output in 2010. This could cause a 25-million-ton reduction in irons ore imports, the report said.

In 2010, the nation's dependence on imported irons ore witnessed the first decrease over the last ten years, and the domestic irons ore gradually became the mainstay supply. Imported iron ore fell to 618 million tons in 2010, down by 1.43 percent over the same period a year earlier.