Iron Ore Arrivals at Chinese Ports Increased Slightly, Shipments from Australia and Brazil Rose Sharply

SHANGHAI, Jul 5 (SMM) - SMM data showed that a total of 77 ships arrived at major ports in China from June 27 to July 3, carrying 10.84 million mt of iron ore, up 70,000 mt on a weekly basis and 1.9 million mt from a year ago. In the same period, shipments from Australia were 17.57 million mt, up 550,000 mt week-on-week, but down 250,000 mt YoY; shipments from Brazil were 7.94 million mt, up 1.73 million mt week-on-week and 440,000 mt YoY. The increase in port arrivals was limited. The total shipments from Australia and Brazil have reached this year’s highest level and are basically flat year-on-year, but may see limited room for further increase in the future. The domestic consumption is still in the off-season. Under the policy of reducing crude steel production, there is still room for iron ore demand to decline, suppressing ore prices.