As port arrivals fluctuated downward, iron ore inventory at 35 ports fell notably

As of August 2, iron ore inventory at 35 ports tracked by SMM was 147.29 million mt, down 1.76 million mt WoW and 27.53 million mt YoY. The daily port clearance volume averaged 2.897 million mt, down 222,000 mt WoW and 8,000 mt YoY.

According to SMM, port arrivals fell significantly last week. Due to the continuous decline in steel prices recently, some steel mills suffered worsening losses and mainly purchased raw materials as needed, which suppressed demand for iron ore. Therefore, port clearance volume showed a downward trend. In addition, with the decrease in arrivals, port inventories showed a sharp drop.

Looking ahead to this week, port arrivals may return to normal levels. As steel mills suffered losses, they started to formulate maintenance plans one after another, and the output of blast furnace pig iron will continue to decline, which may slow down the port clearance volume. Overall, it is expected that port inventories may accumulate again this week.