Imported iron ore stocks fall at Chinese ports

Thursday, 20 Oct 2011

According to Xinhua, China Iron Ore Price Index released, inventories of China iron ore at 25 major ports dipped 0.12% WoW to 93.07 million tonnes in the week ending October 17.

According to the index last week supplies of imported iron ore were 110,000 tonnes lower than that of the previous week.

The price index for 63.5% purity and 58% purity iron ore imports both dropped 10 points to 167 points and 138 points respectively.

According to Xinhua analysts the downward trend in China's iron ore price will continue due to sluggish demand from steel manufacturers and the global economic downturn.

According to the analysts the weakening domestic demand from industries such as construction, automobiles and railway construction will continue to weigh on imported iron ore prices, as a wait-and-see approach has become common among downstream companies.

Iron ore producer giant Vale of Brazil recently said it would scale down its contracting prices of iron ore with Chinese steel companies in the fourth quarter.

(Sourced from www.chinadaily.com.cn)

China imported iron ore stocks rise 0.8 pct this week

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)