On August 3, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 96.66 million mt, up 0.81 million mt or 0.85 percent compared to July 27, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
Over the past week, import iron ore prices in China have moved up amid strong demand and rising futures prices. Iron ore shipments from Brazil have slightly increased over the past week. Meanwhile, the capacity utilization rates of Chinese steelmakers’ blast furnaces have increased further following the end of the rainy weather in China. It is thought that iron ore prices will likely edge up further in the coming period due to the relatively low iron ore inventories on the steelmakers’ side and at ports.