As of August 11, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 109.27 million mt, down 1.72 million mt or 1.54 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on August 4 , as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency on August 12.
As of the same date, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 94 points, unchanged compared to one week ago. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 80 points on the date in question, also stable compared to August 4.
During the given week, prices of imported iron ore in China indicated slight fluctuations. At the beginning of the week, the rises seen in iron ore futures prices pushed up prices of imported iron ore in the spot market, while the slight corrections in iron ore futures prices towards the end of the week caused imported iron ore prices to drop back down. Steelmakers mostly maintain a cautious wait-and-see stance as regards iron ore purchases as the finished steel market has continued to be characterized by slack activity, with finished steel demand from downstream users remaining sluggish in August. It is expected that imported iron ore prices in China will just fluctuate within a narrow range in the coming period.