by Chris Becker

Here are the latest iron ore and other commodity prices with stability in spot prices overshadowed by a lift in futures:

The port inventory overhang is having a drag on spot prices, with low turnover on markets – more from Reuters:

“The pullback results from the big amount of inventory, whereas the downstream market is not active,” said Liu Xinwei, steel analyst at China Sublime Information Group, pointing to the drop-off in construction activity during winter months.

Average metal inventory at steel mills is between 8 and 10 days, significantly better than a month ago when stockpiles could only support one day’s needs, according to China Sublime.

Turnover has been low after the new year holiday and ahead of China’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January.

On Wednesday, 2.7 million lots of steel changed hands, the lowest daily volume since mid-December 2015 and just 1.01 million contracts of iron ore traded, the smallest amount since June 2015.

Consumption typically slows during the cold winter months when the construction sector ebbs, but analysts are also worried about a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

A prolonged bout of toxic smog across the north of the country has renewed concerns about slower manufacturing output, forcing hundreds of factories including steel mills to scale down production or close completely.

The government continues its crackdown on outdated capacity in a bid to curb excess output, saying on Tuesday that it would impose higher power prices on mills using outdated equipment.

Daily iron ore price update (turnover slows)