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 increased by $0.7/mt on Monday, November 20, compared to last Friday, starting the current week at $63.15-63.85/mt CFR China. As of November 13, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 118.25 million mt, up 1.30 million mt or 1.11 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on November 6, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
Last week, global iron ore prices moved on a fluctuating trend, declining by 0.5 percent week on week in line with the downward trend of the Chinese steel futures market, while Chinese mills slowed down their iron ore bookings amid crude steel production cuts in northern regions.
Meanwhile, global iron ore prices have started the current week on an upward trend in line with the increases seen in the Chinese steel futures market. Market sources state that iron ore prices are expected to remain under downward pressure as a result of the ongoing crude steel production cuts and due to the increases in iron ore inventories at Chinese ports, and so iron ore prices will likely fluctuate downwards in the short term.