SMM

As of March 7, SMM data showed that total inventory at 35 ports dropped to 142.97 million mt, down 5.19 million mt WoW but up 4.91 million mt YoY. The daily average port pick-up volume of imported ore was 2.883 million mt, up 8,000 mt WoW and 50,000 mt YoY. Port arrivals saw a slight decline this week. Coupled with severe port congestion in northern regions due to weather impacts, unloading efficiency decreased. Meanwhile, increased restocking by steel mills at low levels drove port pick-up volume higher. As a result, port inventory of iron ore saw significant destocking this week. Looking ahead to next week, with the conclusion of the Two Sessions, more blast furnaces at steel mills are expected to resume production, leading to higher procurement volumes and further increases in port pick-up volumes. However, with previous shipments at low levels, port arrivals are expected to remain low, and port inventory is likely to continue destocking.