On September 28, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 100.5 million mt, up 1.65 million mt or 1.67 percent compared to September 21, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, import iron ore prices in China moved down slightly, though they have increased early this week amid some restocking ahead of the long holiday in China which starts on October 1. Meanwhile, capacity utilization rates of Chinese steelmakers’ blast furnaces have continued to decline amid strict production restrictions in Tangshan and bearish sentiments as the winter heating approaches, reducing expectations as regards demand for import iron ore. It is expected that import iron ore prices will gradually edge down after the long National Day holiday (October 1-8).