SHANGHAI, Apr 13 (SMM) – A total of 84 vessels carrying 13.2 million mt of iron ore arrived at major Chinese ports during April 4-10, SMM estimates. This was up 1.18 million mt from the previous week, and down 630,000 mt from the same period last year.

For the same week, iron ore deliveries leaving Australian ports fell 2.89 million mt on a weekly basis to 13.71 million mt.

Shipments that departed Brazilian ports were estimated to decrease 340,000 mt week on week to 5.61 million mt. This was 850,000 mt higher than the same period last year.

Arrivals of iron ore at port continued to rise, while shipments that departed Australian and Brazilian ports decreased sharply month on month. As the profits of steel mills continued to expand, the demand for mainstream medium and high-quality ore improved, while spot inventories at port also showed a downward trend, which still supported the spot prices of imported iron ore.