Iron ore stocks at 35 Chinese ports kept growing

As of March 22, iron ore inventory across 35 ports tracked by SMM totalled 139.69 million mt, up 540,000 mt WoW and 7.19 million mt YoY. Daily average delivery from the ports was 2.818 million mt, down 60,000 and 96,000 mt YoY. Port arrivals surged. Restart of some steel mills pushed up pig iron output, increasing more cost-effective domestic ore demand and cutting daily consumption of imported ores. Shipments from the ports shrank. Overall iron ore stocks still hiked.
Looking ahead, sustained pig iron output growth will underpin concentrate demand somewhat, bringing more shipments from the ports. Short-term port arrivals may remain high. Overall, the iron ore inventory at the ports may keep piling up this week.