Steel mills' restocking reduced domestic iron ore mine inventories in December, inventory decline to extend into January 

SMM research shows iron ore concentrate inventory at domestic mines fell in December to 832,000 mt, down by 70,000 mt MoM, with the number of inventory days dropping by 0.3 to 3.35 days.
Supply side, rising imported ore prices in December made domestic ore more cost-effective, spurring production and eagerness to sell. Demand side, domestic steel mills began pre-holiday restocking, and post-inspection blast furnace activity kept concentrate demand strong, decreasing mining enterprise inventories. Yet, in regions like Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, early restocking completion due to weather led to slight inventory increases.
January should see a slight dip in domestic mine inventories because: 1) post-maintenance blast furnace activity may increase molten iron output, keeping iron ore demand high; 2) profitable mines are keen to ship goods. Yet, as steel mills end restocking and cold weather impacts transport, inventory declines will likely be small.