WEEKLY: China's iron ore port stocks climb to new record high

Inventories of imported iron ore stockpiled at China's 45 major ports under Mysteel's regular tracking rose for the ninth consecutive week during January 16-22 to 167.7 million tonnes, setting a fresh record. This represented an on-week increase of 2.1 million tonnes, or 1.3%, according to the latest survey result.

Although new ore arrivals at these sampled ports declined last week, port congestion persisted. During January 12-18, about 26.6 million tonnes of iron ore arrived at the 45 surveyed ports, down 2.6 million tonnes, or 8.9%, from the previous week. Nonetheless, 118 vessels were still awaiting unloading at these