Port Inventory Accumulation Suppresses Iron Ore Prices [SMM Brief Review]

Today, the iron ore futures fluctuated downward. The most-traded contract I2505 closed at 785.5, with a daily decline of 0.19%. Traders followed the market to sell goods; approaching the weekend, and with ore prices falling, steel mills had a strong wait-and-see sentiment, mainly cautious observation, with poor purchase willingness; the market transaction atmosphere was sluggish. In Shandong, the mainstream transaction price of PB fines was around 785 yuan/mt, down 0-3 yuan/mt from yesterday; in Tangshan, the transaction price of PB fines was around 795 yuan/mt, down 0-5 yuan/mt from yesterday. As of March 28, SMM data showed that the total inventory of 35 ports was 142.02 million mt, up 580,000 mt WoW and up 1.84 million mt YoY. The daily average port pick-up volume of imported ore was 3.018 million mt, up 96,000 mt WoW and up 240,000 mt YoY. This week, pig iron production continued to rise, and the demand for iron powder from steel mills drove a slight increase in port pick-up volume, but the increase in arrivals this week was more significant; port inventory showed a slight increase; next week, pig iron still has room for growth, and there is no imbalance in the industry. There is still support for ore prices. However, considering the impact of tariffs on sentiment, it is expected that ore prices will face greater upward resistance next week.

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