SHANGHAI, Jul 27 (SMM) - According to data tracked by SMM, 80 ships arrived at domestic main ports from July 18-24. Arrivals of cargoes are estimated to stand at 11.98 million mt, down 650,000 mt from the previous week, and a decrease of 2.98 million mt from the same period last year.

Shipments that departed Australian ports were estimated to increase 1.16 million mt week on week to 16.7 million mt, basically flat on the year, and that from Brazilian ports increased 490,000 million mt to 7.12 million mt on a weekly basis to 7.12 million mt, and up 390,000 mt on the year.

The iron ore arrivals at Chinese ports kept falling for three consecutive weeks, but domestic demand weakened as well amid the expanding production cuts.

More ships departed from both Australian and Brazilian ports, but domestic profits for steel mills rebounded rapidly recently, supporting the iron ore prices. Iron ore prices will continue to fluctuate within a narrow range.