As of January 14, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 75 points, remaining stable compared to January 7. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 66 points on the date in question, unchanged over the same period, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During the given week, some steelmakers in China finished their maintenance works, which will result in some improvement in demand for import iron ore. At the same time, traders in the iron ore market have been willing to conclude purchases of import iron ore. However, demand from steelmakers will remain slack, and this will continue to exert a negative impact on import iron ore prices. Since there are only more than two weeks left ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 2-10), more steelmakers are expected to build up their inventories of import iron ore, which will provide some support for import iron ore prices. It is expected that import iron ore prices for China will move sideways in the coming week.