WEEKLY: China's iron ore port stocks dip for another week

Inventories of imported iron ore stockpiled at China's 47 major ports under Mysteel's tracking dropped for the second straight week to 173.26 million tonnes as of July 9, edging down by 1.36 million tonnes or 0.8% on week, the latest survey showed. Nonetheless, the portside stocks remained elevated, 20.8% higher than the year-ago level.

New iron ore arrivals at the 47 sampled ports declined sharply during the week of June 29-July 5, with the total volume slumping 2.92 million tonnes or 10.1% on week to 25.88 million tonnes. However, port congestion has worsened – on July 9, a total of 125 vessels were