Iron ore inventories at the 33 major Chinese seaports monitored edged up 2 percent week on week to 81.58 million metric tons (tonnes) as of September 28, according to the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index (Xinhua-China IOP Index) released on Tuesday.
The index, compiled through research and analysis of 33 selected major seaports, shows that the price index for iron ore imports of 62 percent purity grade declined 1 point from a week before to 57 by September 28; and the index for iron ore imports of 58 percent purity grade dropped 2 points to 51. Prices of imported iron ore went down in the week of September 22-28 as a large number of imported ore resources reached domestic seaports and iron ore futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) continued a downtrend.
Despite the traditional peak season for steel consumption, there was no obvious improvement in the demand, leading to steel mills' wait-and-see attitude towards the purchases. Before the seven-day National Day holiday (October 1-7), lots of steel mills will purchase ores to replenish stocks. Therefore, the spot iron ore prices are expected to maintain stable in the short term. However, after the holiday, ore prices will likely turn weak, said analysts. Developed by Xinhua News Agency, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index (Xinhua-China IOP Index) is released every Tuesday on the Xinhua08 platform.
The index closely tracks changes of the country's iron ore market on the basis of in-depth surveys of China's major sea ports, iron ore traders, and steel makers, as well as analysis of Customs statistics, and serves as a reference indicator that is able to reflect changes in iron ore stocks in China. The original data was collected via the global data and information collection network of Xinhua and put together with comments from industry experts in the iron and steel production, wholesale, and retail sectors.
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