As of May 18, inventory of
iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 85.02 million mt, down 2.52 million mt or 2.88 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on May 11, as announced by
China's Xinhua News Agency on May 19.
As of the same date, the Xinhua-
China Iron Ore Price Index for imported
iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 61 points, remaining stable week on week. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-
China Iron Ore Price Index for imported
iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 56 points on the date in question, increasing by one point week on week.
In the first half of the given week, imported
iron ore prices moved on a rising trend due to support from
iron ore futures prices, with mainstream imported
iron ore prices reaching their highest levels of the past two months. However, with domestic finished steel prices moving down in the latter part of the given week, steelmakers reduced their purchases of imported
iron ore, which negatively impacted
iron ore prices. It is expected that imported
iron ore prices in
China will follow a slight downtrend in the coming week as finished steel prices will likely edge down further due to slack demand.