Having closed last week with an upward movement, prices of ex-Australia iron ore of 62 percent Fe content for delivery to China’s Qingdao port have decreased by $0.6/mt on Monday, December 11, compared to last Friday, starting the current week at $68.45-69.15/mt CFR China. As of December 4, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 119.46 million mt, up 1.76 million mt or up 1.5 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on November 27, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
During last week, on some days import iron ore prices in China recorded sharp increases amid decent demand for high quality iron ore from Chinese crude steel producers, though on other days prices recorded significant declines due to decreases in the Chinese iron ore futures market. At the end of the week, global iron ore prices were up 0.7 percent on week-on-week basis.
This week, demand for iron ore in China is expected to be slack following the bookings made by domestic crude steel producers last week and prices are expected to fluctuate within a narrow range.