Iron ore inventory accumulation at 10 major ports continued, four major types of iron ores diverged

The iron ore inventories across the 10 major ports tracked by SMM increased by 1.42 million mt WoW to 114.73 million mt. Stocks of different types are as follows: fines (85.52 million mt, +690,000 mt), iron ore concentrates (11.41 million mt, +320,000 mt), lump (12.71 million mt, +270,000 mt), and pellet (5.06 million mt, +110,000 mt).

Last week, inventories at 10 major ports continued to accumulate, but the rise narrowed. Due to the persisting pressure on profits, steel mills slowed down their procurement pace, leaving all four major types of iron ore inventory rising, with fines stock growth more noticeable. Affected by environmental inspections in some regions, the demand for pellets and sinters weakened, elevating lump demand, resulting in a relatively smaller increase in lump stocks. More cost-effective than domestic pellets, imported pellets showed a low inventory accumulation.

Looking ahead to this week, pig iron output may show a downward trend, reducing the demand for iron ores, leading to continued inventory accumulation at ports. Given the differences in cost/performance ratio, four types of iron ore are expected to diverge.