On January 17, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 147.64 million mt, up 0.56 percent compared to January 10, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, import iron ore prices decreased slightly. Deliveries of iron ore declined sharply. Steelmakers’ blast furnace capacity utilization rates have continued to rise, resulting in increasing steel production. All of these factors have led to rises in iron ore prices to above $130/mt CFR as of January 20. As the Chinese New Year is approaching, most steelmakers have been completing iron ore stock replenishment, which will exert a negative impact on iron ore prices next week. It is thought that import iron ore prices may edge down in the coming week.