Iron ore stocks at 35 domestic ports rose at a slower pace

As of January 19, iron ore inventory across 35 ports tracked by SMM totalled 123.27 million mt, up 430,000 mt WoW but down 5.16 million mt YoY. Daily average shipments from the ports rose 59,000 mt WoW to 3.06 million mt last week, but fell 53,000 mt YoY. Steel mills’ demand for iron ore has improved. With more iron ore demand and a steep iron ore price erosion, some steel mills accelerated restocking, increasing shipments from the ports. However, iron ore inventory at the ports still piled up amid more port arrivals.
Looking at this week, according to the operating rate of BFs, with scheduled restart of some BFs, the daily average output of pig iron edged higher, offering some boost to iron ore concentrate demand. There will still be pre-holiday stockpiling of steel mills in some areas. It is expected that shipments from the ports will remain high. However, iron ore stocks at the ports will probably build up this week, given a spike in port arrivals.