On January 18, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 106.9 million mt, up 840,000 mt or 0.79 percent compared to January 11, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, import iron ore prices in China showed small changes, remaining at quite high levels, supported by concerns regarding lower shipments from Australia in the future due to expected cyclone weather, though lately more iron ore has been arriving at Chinese ports. Meanwhile, Chinese steel mills may build up stocks of imported iron ore ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 11-17), and this may also support prices. However, the worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic in many regions in China will likely exert a negative impact on the steel market, which will result in slacker demand for iron ore. It is thought that import iron ore prices in the Chinese market will likely fluctuate within a wider range in the coming week.