As of July 1, inventory of iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports amounted to 75.28 million mt, indicating an increase of 100,000 mt or 0.13 percent compared to June 24, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
Iron ore inventory at Chinese ports has been on an upward trend over the past three months.As of the same date, the Xinhua-China IronOre Price Index for imported iron ore with 63.5 percent iron content was at 115 points, up two points compared to one week ago. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China IronOre Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 104 points on the given date, stable compared to one week ago.
According to Xinhua News Agency, in the second half of the week ending July 1 import iron ore prices in China indicated a rising trend after declining in the first half of the week, while transaction activity remained relatively stable. Steelmakers remained cautious about purchasing imported iron ore and reacted negatively to the slight price growth, while widespread oversupply limited the rising trend of iron ore prices, which remained in the range of $110-120/mt.
As Xinhua News Agency stated, current steel prices are at the lowest levels of the past four years and may continue to decrease. Accordingly, in July this year, with political support (with announcement and implementation of government measures), steel prices are expected to rebound. However, amid shortages of funding for the steel industry, any rebound is expected to be limited.
