WEEKLY: China mills operate with lower iron ore stocks

Stocks of imported iron ore sintering fines being held by the 64 Chinese steelmakers under Mysteel's weekly survey had thinned to 11.3 million tonnes by November 13, declining by 194,400 tonnes or 1.7% on week and snapping a five-week rise, the latest survey results show. The volume was also 4% lower than that a year earlier.

Chinese steelmakers' demand for iron ore has been largely constrained by their weakened production enthusiasm recently, Mysteel Global noted. Daily hot metal production among the 247 Chinese steelmakers Mysteel regularly checks dropped by 2.2% on week to average 2.29 million tonnes/day over December 1-7, a new low since February after