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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Iron ore inventories dip in China

Thursday, 15 Dec 2011

Xinhua quoted according to the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index released on Tuesday that inventories of iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports dipped 0.75% WoW to 99.6 million tons in the week ending on December 12.

According to the index it was the first time in a month for iron ore supplies to fall below 100 million tonnes with last week inventories down by 750,000 tonnes. The price index for 63.5% grade imported iron ore dropped 1.36% to 145 points in the week while 58% purity iron ore imports remained unchanged at 119 points.

According to Xinhua analysts a decline in crude steel output dampened buying enthusiasm among most steel manufacturers and iron ore traders, who are still waiting to make a move in light of possible price fluctuations in the future.

According to customs data, China steel exports stood at 45.16 million tonnes between January and November up by 13.8%YoY while steel imports fell 4.2%YoY to 14.39 million tonnes.

Currently, China domestic iron ore is cheaper than imports, putting Chinese steelmakers in a position to limit their purchases of raw materials particularly from overseas.

(Sourced from Xinhua)

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