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The Pilbara Ports Authority, which manages the world’s largest iron ore export terminal, tracked a total monthly throughput of 52 million tonnes for the month of May, placing its year-to-date throughput volumes 13% higher than the same time last year.
Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group contributed to a 6% year-on-year increase in throughput at the Port of Port Hedland during the month to 38.7Mt.
Iron ore exports over May were 38Mt, up 5% over the same time last year.
The news follows a series of statistical updates from the port authority on ever-escalating iron ore exports amid stagnation in pricing for the commodity. Iron ore was trading as low as $US47 per tonne in early April before recent momentum brought the steelmaking ingredient to its current mark of $64.77/t.
This latest firmness for iron ore, however, has not translated into universal optimism about a sustained rebound in the struggling sector.
"Seaborne demand is likely to peak in 2016 and the iron ore market is becoming a zero-sum game," Goldman Sachs analyst Christian Lelong told Bloomberg last week even as iron ore prices cracked $60/t in an apparent turnaround.
"We expect the war of attrition will continue while prices gradually decline toward our $40/t.”
Australian iron shares also failed to be cheered by the price uptick in the face of rising exports from the major producers, with most ASX operators trading in the red yesterday.
At the Port of Dampier, Pilbara Ports recorded a 9% year-on-year decrease in throughput to 13.6Mt.
Rio Tinto operations at Dampier were interrupted in March due to the effects of Severe Tropical Cyclone Olwyn.
