Port Inventory Slightly Destocked, Iron Ore Prices Show a Stronger Trend [SMM Brief Review]

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Today, DCE iron ore fluctuated upward throughout the day. The most-traded I2505 contract closed at 753.5, up 0.53% for the day. Traders showed moderate enthusiasm for selling, while steel mills reduced inquiries. The market transaction atmosphere was average. In Shandong, mainstream transaction prices for PB fines were 760-765 yuan/mt, up 0-5 yuan/mt from yesterday. In Tangshan, PB fines traded at 775-780 yuan/mt, also up 0-5 yuan/mt from yesterday.

As of January 10, according to SMM monitoring data, total inventory at 35 ports reached 146.33 million mt, up 1.1 million mt WoW and up 23.48 million mt YoY. Daily average port pick-up volume for imported ore was 3.149 million mt, up 69,000 mt WoW and up 150,000 mt YoY. This week, port arrivals increased significantly. On the demand side, SMM tracking showed that pig iron production from steel mill blast furnaces rose notably this week. Combined with stockpiling activities ahead of the Chinese New Year, this drove up port pick-up volumes. However, due to the significant increase in port arrivals, port inventories showed an accumulation trend. Looking ahead to next week, considering that pig iron production from steel mill blast furnaces is still rising, port pick-up volumes are expected to continue increasing, while port inventories may see a slight decline. This is expected to provide some support to ore prices, with iron ore prices likely to fluctuate rangebound next week.