As of May 18, aggregate iron ore stocks at 30 major Chinese ports amounted to 96.67 million mt, 400,000mt less than previous week, according to the data issued by Chinese port authorities.
Of the ports in questions, in the week in question iron ore inventory increased at 12 ports, decreased at six, while it declined at the remaining 12 ports. The decreases in iron ore stocks occurred mainly at northern ports. The aggregate reduction in iron ore stocks at the ports of Jingtang, Caofeidian and Tianjin totaled 1.1 million mt, with inventory at Caofeidian Port decreasing by 400,000 mt following five consecutive weeks of upward movement. Slight decreases in iron ore inventory were observed at the ports of Lianyungang, Zhanjiang and Fangchenggang in the week in question. On the other hand, iron ore stocks rebounded by over 100,000 mt in the given week at both the ports of Rizhao and Qingdao.