On January 10, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 146.82 million mt, down 0.09 percent compared to January 3, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, import iron ore prices increased slightly. The delivery of iron ore from Australia indicated slight rises as maintenance works on berths in Australia were completed, while deliveries from Brazil declined due to the impact of the rainy season. Chinese steelmakers’ blast furnace capacity utilization rates have risen, providing solid support for iron ore prices due to improved demand. It is expected that import iron ore prices may edge up in the coming week.