On January 4, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 107.37 million mt, up 0.64 million mt or 0.6 percent compared to December 28, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, import iron ore prices in China edged up slightly amid less iron ore arriving at Chinese ports, though iron ore shipments from the leading miners increased. Meanwhile, blast furnace capacity utilization rates of Chinese steelmakers rose slightly, while crude steel output in China is unlikely to increase further in the near future due to environmental protection measures being implemented during the winter heating season. Import iron ore prices will likely fluctuate within a certain range in the coming week.