Port arrivals declined significantly, iron ore inventory at 35 ports experienced slight drop

As of December 27, according to SMM monitoring data, the total iron ore inventory at 35 ports stood at 144.99 million mt, down 860,000 mt WoW but up 28.15 million mt YoY. The daily average port pick-up volume of imported ore was 3.127 million mt, down 4,000 mt WoW and up 270,000 mt YoY. Affected by previous ore shipments, this week's port arrivals dropped significantly. Winter stockpiling by steel mills was not active, with most adopting a purchase-as-needed strategy, leading to a slight decline in port pick-up volume. Overall, due to the significant drop in port arrivals, port inventory showed a destocking trend. Looking ahead to next week, port arrivals are expected to increase. Based on SMM current tracking, pig iron production from steel mill blast furnaces may continue to decline, and port pick-up volume may also decrease, potentially leading to a slight accumulation in port inventory.