Iron ore inventories at the 33 major Chinese seaports monitored by Xinhua edged up 0.87 percent week on week to 86.57 million metric tons (tonnes) as of Dec. 7, 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 was down 4 points from a week before to 40 by Dec. 7, and the index for iron ore imports of 58 percent purity grade also fell 4 points week on week to 36. In Dec. 1-7, prices of imported iron ore continued a downtrend.
Due to the off-season factor in the steel industry, steel mills' demands for raw materials were limited. Given the financial strain at the end of year, steel mills were cautious about purchases of raw materials.
In order to recoup funds, ore traders will likely sell off the goods, which will further dampen the ore prices, said analysts. Developed by Xinhua News Agency, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index (Xinhua-China IOP Index) is released every Tuesday.
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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