As of January 6, inventory of
iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports amounted to 85.43 million mt, indicating an increase of 1.233 million mt or 1.46 percent week on week, as announced by
China's Xinhua News Agency.
As of the same date, the Xinhua-
China Iron Ore Price Index for imported
iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 135 points, up two points from one week earlier. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-
China Iron Ore Price Index for imported
iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 122 points on the date in question, also up two points week on week.
Due to the New Year holiday in the given week, a wait-and-see mood prevailed in
China's import
iron ore market in the early part of the week. After the New Year holiday, the tightness of liquidity on the mills' side eased as banks started to give credit, while traders in the import
iron ore market became a little more optimistic as they believed steel mills would start to replenish stocks without liquidity concerns. In this context,
iron ore prices have trended up in the post-holiday market.
However, steel mills have mostly been purchasing just in line with their needs. At the same time, oversupply may also appear in the
iron ore market due to overcapacity and weakened demand in the downstream market. Currently, due to the cold weather and the traditional off-season, market players are still generally pessimistic on the future prospects for the
iron ore market. Moreover, with volumes of
iron ore shipped by mining companies increasing, pressure from
iron ore inventories is expected to become stronger. It is thought that import
iron ore prices in
China will decline slightly in the coming week.