WEEKLY: China's iron ore port stocks dip after weeks of increase

Inventories of imported iron ore stockpiled at China's major 45 ports under Mysteel's regular tracking dropped slightly after rising for seven straight weeks, with the volume down by 750,600 tonnes or 0.5% on week to 150.5 million tonnes by November 20, according to the latest survey results. Meanwhile, the current stockpiles were 2% lower than the year-ago level.

Fewer seaborne iron ore cargoes have arrived at Chinese ports in the recent couple of weeks, but the congestion at the ports worsened due to slower unloading rate. During November 10-16, about 22.7 million tonnes of iron ore reached the 45 sampled ports, down by 4.7 million tonnes or