Iron Ore Inventories at 10 Major Ports In China Decline

SHANGHAI, May 15 (SMM) - Iron ore inventories across the 10 major ports in China dropped 0.4% from levels seen before Labour Day holiday to 88.38 million mt last week. According to SMM data, 213 ships carrying iron ore arrived at domestic ports in the period of April 29-May 5. Shipments from Australia increased from 11.89 million mt to 15.56 million mt, while those from Brazil fell from 3.48 million mt to 2.96 million mt. Overseas shipments continued to recover last week. Only the arrivals of lumps increased across major Chinese ports. Some steel mills resumed operations of blast furnaces, boosting the demand for iron ore and driving down the port inventory.