Escalating demand led to destocking of iron ore at 10 major ports

According to SMM data, iron ore stocks across the ten major ports in China totalled 107.95 million mt last week, down 140,000 mt from April 3. Stocks by ore type and their change compared with April 3: fines (79.63 million mt, -500,000 mt); pellet (5.45 million mt, -220,000 mt), concentrate (9.65 million mt, +500,000 mt), lump (13.22 million mt, +80,000 mt).

A spike in profits of steel mills, elevated pig iron output and some stockpiling increased shipments from the ports.

Looking forward, according to current tracking of operating rates of BFs, daily average output of pig iron will still move up, which may bring more shipments from the ports. However, ore stocks at the ports may trend up again amid high port arrivals. Given that the cost-effectiveness of different types of iron ore vary, stocks of the four major types may still diverge.