In August, Chinese steel mills have either cancelled or deferred shipments of up to 4 million mt of iron ore from miners after iron ore prices decreased to their lowest levels in two and a half years, according to a report by Reuters.
"I do not think iron ore prices will bottom out soon. As long as steel mills do not aggressively cut production, the market will not achieve a balance," an iron ore trader in Shanghai stated. On the other hand, some local traders think that iron ore prices will rebound soon and have started to buy some cargoes.
However, many steel traders believe large-scale stockpiling of iron ore either by steel mills or traders will not happen even if prices hit bottom as the high iron ore inventories sitting at Chinese ports and weak steel prices have darkened the prospects for the market