China's imported iron ore stockpiles decline

BEIJING - Stockpiles of imported iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports dropped slightly during the previous two weeks, which included the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, new data showed Tuesday.

At the end of the Jan 28 to Feb 10 period, inventories of imported iron ore stood at 92.37 million tons, down 0.47 percent over the previous period (Jan 21-27), according to a Xinhua-China Iron Ore Index report.

The index, compiled through research and analysis of 25 sea ports, showed that the price index for iron ore imports with a 62 percent purity grade dropped 1 point from the previous week to 123. The index for imports of 58 percent purity grade dropped 1 point to 112.

Despite the slight drop in inventory, iron ore stockpiles at ports remained at a relatively high level as sales were curtailed by the seven-day holiday for the Spring Festival, or China's lunar new year, which began on January 31.

The report forecast that inventory at ports will continue to drop after Lantern's Day on Friday, a time after which most factories will resume production.