Chinese Iron Ore Port Stocks Slide to 6-Month Low

Iron Ore, Steel

Iron ore inventories at 42 U-Metal surveyed Chinese ports declined by 0.9 Mt week-on-week to 119.2 Mt on 20 March, the lowest level since September 2019. By contrast stockpiles were at 144.0 Mt on 22 March 2020.

Simultaneously, steel product inventories in major Chinese cities eased by 0.6 Mt on the week to just under 25.4 Mt on 20 March, according to U-Metal. Nonetheless, finished product stockpiles of over 25 Mt in the first three weeks of March were at recent highs, February inventories averaged 20.1 Mt and March 2019 stockpiles were around 17.6 Mt.