On September 14, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 98.6 million mt, up 1.35 million mt or 1.39 percent compared to September 7, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, import iron ore prices in China fluctuated within a limited range amid declining shipments due to maintenance of berths in Australia and decreasing volumes of iron ore supplies arriving at ports. Meanwhile, capacity utilization rates of Chinese steelmakers’ blast furnaces continued to edge down due to the steelmakers’ moves to cut production, which reduced the demand for iron ore and this trend will likely continue in the near future. However, Chinese steelmakers may build up stocks ahead of the long National Day holiday (October 1-8), which will likely bolster import iron ore prices in late September.