As port arrivals remained high, iron ore inventory accumulation at the 35 ports increased

As of July 26, iron ore inventory at the 35 ports tracked by SMM was 149.05 million mt, up 1.46 million mt WoW and 28.08 million mt YoY. The daily port clearance volume averaged 3.119 million mt, up 101,000 mt WoW and 92,000 mt YoY.

According to SMM, port arrivals remained at a relatively high level last week. With recent significant declines in iron ore prices and low inventories, steel mills had some restocking demand, driving up port clearance volume. However, due to the noticeable increase in port arrivals, port inventory continued to accumulate.

Looking ahead to this week, considering previous shipments, port arrivals are expected to remain at a high level. Some blast furnaces will resume production, and a few new blast furnaces will be put into operation this week. Therefore, the pig iron output will continue to rise, which may drive up port clearance volume. However, overall, as port arrivals will still increase, port inventory is likely to keep accumulating.