As of July 31, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 120.77 million mt, down 930,000 mt or 0.76 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on July 24, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
As of the same date, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 69 points, up one point compared to July 24. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 58 points on the date in question, also up one point over the same period.
During the given week, due to environmental inspections concerning low-grade construction steel production, the whole supply chain in the steel industry has been affected, resulting in significant increases in iron ore futures prices on Dalian Commodity Exchange, in turn positively impacting import iron ore prices. However, following the rises seen in import iron ore prices, buyers have been more cautious about concluding purchases. Amid the current traditional summer offseason, demand for finished steel is slack and so support for finished steel prices is limited. It is thought that import iron ore prices are unlikely to maintain their sharp upward momentum in the coming period.