As of March 9, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 96.34 million mt, down 0.20 million mt or 0.21 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on March 2, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency on March 10.
As of the same date, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 59 points, down five points week on week. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 51 points on the date in question, down three points compared to the previous week.
During the period in question (March 3-9), imported iron ore prices indicated a sharp decrease, with prices dropping below $60/mt. This sharp decline happened during the latter part of the given week and was mainly due to the ongoing sluggishness of transaction activity at ports, which forced traders to lower their sales prices. Furthermore, on March 5, iron ore futures prices in China indicated a significant decrease, which also exerted a negative impact on the spot market.
It is expected that imported iron ore prices in the Chinese market will continue their downtrend in the coming week as bearish sentiment prevails in the spot market.