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

SHANGHAI, Jun 21 (SMM) - SMM data showed that a total of 76 ships arrived at major ports in China from June 13 to June 19, carrying 11.45 million mt of iron ore, up 1.24 million mt on a weekly basis, but down 1.7 million mt from a year ago. In the same period, shipments from Australia were 21.19 million mt, up 1.19 million mt week-on-week and 4.96 million mt YoY; shipments from Brazil were 6.33 million mt, down 770,000 mt week-on-week, but up 340,000 mt YoY. Following three consecutive weeks of declines, port arrivals began to increase. As the second quarter is about to end, major mines will ramp up shipments in order to achieve their quarterly targets. However, due to the poor downstream demand recently, more blast furnaces have been put under maintenance, and the demand for iron ore has dropped significantly as a result. It is expected that the iron ore prices will face pressure in the short term.