China's iron-ore imports in June rose by 15% from the month before to a six-month high, as miners increased shipments to achieve quarterly guidance and as lower prices sparked more buying among steelmakers and traders.

The world's largest iron-ore consumer imported112.69-million tons of the key steelmaking ingredient last month, up 6.4% from the year before and the highest since December, data from the country's General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.

"Shipments increased last month as some miners ramped up efforts to meet quarterly guidance and as some mines boosted output," said Qingwei Xie, an analyst at consultancy Shanghai Metals Market.

Iron-ore exports from major suppliers Australia and Brazil jumped by 4.3% month-on-month in late June, data from shipping tracking agency Kpler showed.

Hot metal output stayed high in June, underpinning iron-ore consumption, Xie added.

The average June daily hot metal output, a gauge of iron ore demand, was 0.7% higher than the month before, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.

Some cargoes arrived in May, but cleared customs last month, also contributing to higher ore imports, analysts said.

Prices of the key steelmaking ingredient slid by 4.7% last month as the tentative deals between the US and Iran sent energy prices and freight rates down.

China's iron-ore imports totalled 628.87-million tons between January and June, an annual rise of 6.3%.

STEEL EXPORTS STAY HIGH

China's outbound shipments of steel products in June remained high despite a slight monthly fall, due to seasonally lacklustre domestic demand and still competitive prices in the export market.

June exports, at 10.32-million tons, were down 0.2% from the month before, but were 6.6% higher than the same month the year before.

Steel consumption weakened last month as heavy rain and high temperatures in some regions curbed construction, which encouraged mills to export more of their steel products.

Export prices fell last month, tracking the trend in the domestic market and making Chinese steel more competitive compared with international rivals.

The Iran conflict disrupted the outflow of steel products from the Gulf, prompting Middle Eastern customers to seek alternatives.

In the first half of the year, steel exports slipped by 5.6% from the year before to 54.87-million tons.