Imported Iron Ore Inventories At 35 Chinese Ports Accumulated Last Week As Port Safety Issues Reduced Deliveries From Ports

As of June 16, iron ore inventories across 35 ports tracked by SMM totalled 124.65 million mt, up 2.07 million mt WoW and 3.30 million mt YoY. The daily average shipments from the 35 ports fell 3,400 mt on a weekly basis to 2.87 million mt last week. Steel mills purchased as required. Shipments from ports decreased due to the safety issue at Caofeidian port. SMM understood that two berths were shut down due to the port accident. But since the accident has been resolved, shipments from ports will rebound to a certain extent.

According to the data tracked by SMM, the arrivals at domestic ports last week decreased by 7.91% from the previous week. Shipments from Australia and Brazil are expected to increase significantly this week. Pig iron output will increase as some blast furnaces have plans to resume production. This will boost iron ore demand and drive shipments from ports. Considering that the output of pig iron is at a high level and the actual increase will be limited, the inventory at 35 ports may accumulate slightly.