Iron ore deliveries from Shandong ports dip as steel mills complete restocking

SHANGHAI, Jun 1 (SMM) – Iron ore inventories across 35 major Chinese ports increased 1.04 million mt to 147.56 million mt as of Friday June 1, SMM data showed. This compared with 146.51 million mt on Friday May 25. 

Daily average volumes delivered from ports this week dipped 6,000 mt week on week to stand at 2.57 million mt. 

Volumes delivered from ports shrank in Rizhao and Qingdao of Shandong province, as most local steel mills completed their restocking ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on June 9. North and east China saw relatively stable arrivals of iron ore this week. 

SMM expects iron ore inventories at Jingtang and Caofeidian ports in Tangshan of Hebei province to rebound in the near term, as local steel mills have already been operating at their full capacity and there is therefore limited upside for iron ore demand. Volumes of iron ore delivered from these ports have risen since the start of May.

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