Fri Apr 1, 2011 8:35am GMT
BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) - Stockpiles of imported iron ore at major Chinese ports rose 0.8 percent this week to end at
79.85 million tonnes, up for the first time in a month, according to data from industry consultancy Mysteel.
China's port iron ore stocks have stood at more than 60 million tonnes since 2008, and surged past the 80 million tonne
mark in February following a spree of orders by local mills and traders banking on strong steel demand.
Despite the drop in orders since mid-February, port stocks have fallen by just a fraction, indicating that steel mill
inventories have not yet reached a critical level.
Prices of the key steelmaking raw material inched up over the week as end users returned to the market to replenish stocks
that had been dwindling since mid-February.
But analysts were pessimistic about long-term demand, and said orders could slow in April as steel mills start to digest
the costly port inventories.
Following is a table showing stockpile movements this week.
Country Stocks Weekly Change
Australia 28.86 mln T +190,000
Brazil 21.13 mln T +90,000
India 14.33 mln T +320,000
Total 79.85 mln T +660,000
(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Chris Lewis, sourced Reuters, Mysteel)
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