Import expo, environmental probes lower iron ore deliveries from Chinese ports

SHANGHAI, Nov 9 (SMM) – Maintenance and environmental probes at ports along the Yangtze River lowered average daily deliveries of iron ore from 35 major Chinese ports to 2.71 million mt in the week ended November 9, SMM research found. The figure shrank 107,000 mt from a week earlier.

Some ports undertook maintenance this week given the ongoing China International Import Expo while the central government began its second round of month-long environmental reviews in Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Anhui, Shandong, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Shaanxi provinces last week.

Despite the week-over-week decline, iron ore daily deliveries leaving ports remained at high levels. This shrank iron ore stocks across those ports by 1.7 million mt on the week to 131.62 million mt as of Friday.

Limited arrivals and steady deliveries significantly lowered iron ore inventories at Jingtang port in Tangshan this week.