Iron Ore Arrivals at Chinese Ports Down 1.14 Million mt on Week

SHANGHAI, Feb 22 (SMM) – According to data tracked by SMM, 74 ships arrived at domestic main ports in February 14-20. Arrivals of cargoes are estimated to stand at 11.23 million mt, down 1.24 million mt from the previous session and down 1.06 million mt year on year.

Shipments that departed Australian ports were estimated to rise 2.16 million mt week on week to 16.53 million mt, up 5.01 million mt on the year. And that from Brazilian ports dropped 0.7 million mt to 4.06 million mt on a weekly basis, down 1.92 million mt on the year. The total arrivals of imported ore dropped slightly from the prior session, while the combined shipments from Australia and Brazil rose palpably.

Currently speaking, the combined shipments from Australia and Brazil were low throughout the year amid port maintenance and hurricane in Australia and rainstorm in Brazil. In China, on the other hand, the port inventory was high, hence the slightly falling arrivals will not result in tight supplies. Furthermore, quite a number of blast furnaces in Tangshan city resumed the production after the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the demand for iron ore rose as well. Nonetheless, considering the on-going political intervention, iron ore prices will move rangebound in the near term.