As of October 19, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 80.83 million mt, up 3.56 million mt or 4.61 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on October 12, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency on October 20.
As of the same date, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 53 points, down three points week on week. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 48 points on the date in question, also down three points week on week.
In the given week, overall imported iron ore prices indicated a decline due to slack demand. At the start of the given week, iron ore prices rose slightly in the spot market, which increased domestic steel enterprises’ costs and caused them to incur greater losses. In the latter part of the given week, however, buyers mostly held a wait-and-see stance towards the spot market and so overall transaction activity was slack, causing prices to soften. Currently, since no significant improvement is seen in demand, sentiment remains weak in China’s domestic finished steel market. In addition, due to the seasonal reduction of domestic finished steel production, it is thought that imported iron ore prices in China will likely move on a declining trend in the coming period.