Chinese iron ore stockpiles surge again

Tuesday, 13 December 2016

The bulk bubble continues to be driven by Chinese hoarding. From Macquarie:

Iron ore inventories at Chinese steel mills rose again on the latest fortnightly assessment from Mysteel. As of 7 December, inventories of imported fines stand at 28 days of consumption, up from 21 days on 26 October, and a weighted measure of domestic and imported inventories equates to 26 days of consumption, up from 20 days of consumption. This is the highest level since early-February and is a key reason why we expect iron ore prices to soften from here.

Meanwhile, at ports, the surge continues, up another 500kt last week to 111.25mt:

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.