On December 6, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 145.08 million mt, up 1.65 percent compared to November 29, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, import iron ore prices increased, supported by the decreasing volume of iron ore arriving in the market and gains in local steel prices. Production capacity utilization rates and steel outputs declined slightly, and this trend will likely continue, which will exert a negative impact on the demand for import iron ore. However, downstream users may start to build up stocks of imported iron ore in the winter season, which will bolster prices.