On July 20, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 93.24 million mt, up 1.34 million mt or 1.46 percent compared to July 13, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
Over the past week, import iron ore prices in China have edged down amid decreasing capacity utilization rates at steelmakers’ blast furnaces and declining steel outputs. Due to the production halts in some regions, demand for iron ore will likely slacken in the coming period. However, inventory of iron ore at steelmakers and at ports is relatively low, which will bolster prices of ore. It is thought that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming period.