Iron ore inventory across 35 Chinese ports built up

As of March 29, iron ore inventory across 35 ports tracked by SMM totalled 140.18 million mt, up 490,000 mt WoW and 9.17 million mt YoY. Daily average shipment from the ports was 2.779 million mt, down 40,000 and 268,000 mt YoY. Port arrivals still surged last week. Weaker-than-expected pig iron output uptick and ample in-plants stocks made a small dent in shipments from the ports. Overall, iron ore stocks at ports still piled up.
Looking ahead, prolonged pig iron output growth will underpin concentrate demand somewhat. Moreover, some steel mills will stock ores before the Qingming Festival. Shipments from the ports will increase. Short-term port arrivals may remain high. Overall, the iron ore inventory at the ports may keep mounting up this week.