According to SMM data, iron ore stocks across the ten major ports in China totalled 108.91 million mt last week, up 960,000 mt WoW. Stocks by ore type and their WoW: fines (80.01 million mt, +380,000 mt); pellet (5.29 million mt, -160,000 mt), concentrate (9.9 million mt, +250,000 mt), lump (13.71 million mt, +490,000 mt).
Shipments from the ports ticked up. Port arrivals still mounted up. In spite of improving profits, steel mills still showed strong willingness of cost control. Moreover, there were differences in the cost performance of different types of iron ore. Stocks of ore varieties were mixed.
Looking forward, according to current tracking of operating rates of BFs, daily average output of pig iron will still move up, which may bring more shipments from the ports. However, ore stocks at the ports may trend up again amid probably high port arrivals. Given that the cost-effectiveness of different types of iron ore vary, stocks of the four major types may still diverge.
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