As of September 22, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 109.54 million mt, down 110,000 mt or 0.1 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on September 15, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency on September 23.
As of the same date, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 81 points, down one point week on week. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 71 points on the date in question, remaining unchanged week on week.
During the given week, imported iron ore prices first moved up but later started to edge back down. At the beginning of the week, due to the slight rebound seen in domestic finished steel prices, imported iron ore prices in China moved on a rising trend. However, in the latter part of the week, iron ore futures prices indicated a significant decline, dragging down imported iron ore prices in the spot market. Meanwhile, as demand for finished steel from downstream users has remained slack, domestic steelmakers are mostly maintaining a cautious stance towards iron ore purchases, with bearish sentiment prevailing in the market.
Currently, as imported iron ore supplies are plentiful, steelmakers are only concluding purchases in line with their needs and so imported iron ore prices are unlikely to move up. It is expected that imported iron ore prices in China will continue their slight downtrend in the coming week.