SHANGHAI, Jun 19 (SMM) – Inventories of seaborne iron ore at Chinese ports rose this week, as demand recovery from port closures in Tangshan was offset by the inflows of cargoes previously stranded due to port congestion.

SMM data showed that iron ore stocks across 35 Chinese ports increased 540,000 mt in the week ended June 19 to 99.35 million mt, following a 790,000 mt decline in the previous week.

The stocks were 9.14 million mt lower than a year ago.

The easing of port congestion lifted stocks at major ports of Shandong and Tangshan this week, while stocks at the port of Tianjin edged down.

This week, daily average iron ore deliveries from the 35 ports increased 126,000 mt from the prior week to 2.78 million mt, propelled by a rebound in the top steelmaking hub of Tangshan.

Deliveries from Tangshan’s ports—Caofeidian and Jingtang—both returned above 300,000 mt per day this week, as mills ramped up purchasing after the air-quality control restrictions were lifted.

Deliveries from ports are likely to remain largely stable in the short term as steel mills continue to restock as needed.