Uh oh. China runs out of room for iron ore

Monday 16 February 2026

The ferrous jaws are all but closed after a Friday flush.

CISA early February data was out and was not good. We are well below 2025 output here, though the later CNY is playing a role.

Steel inventories climbed 2.7%.

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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.