On August 1, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 125.8565 million mt, up 3.43% compared to July 26, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency. Import iron ore prices moved up sharply in the given week. In the given week, deliveries of iron ore to users indicated declines, especially deliveries of iron ore from Brazil which decreased significantly, while iron ore volumes arriving at Chinese ports continued to decrease. Capacity utilization rates of blast furnaces in China decreased further, which resulted in reduced demand for iron ore . However, market players think the capacity utilization rates of blast furnaces will rise amid the increases in finished steel prices. It is thought that import iron ore prices may edge up slightly in the coming week.
