BEIJING: Iron ore stockpiles at ports in China will probably expand in the coming months as mills in the top supplier are forced to reduce steel output while supplies from mines increase further, hurting the outlook for prices that have lost 25 percent this year.
Inventories may increase by about 10 million metric tons through to the year-end, according to Colin Hamilton, head of commodities research at Macquarie Group Ltd. That could lift holdings to about the highest since May, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Iron ore is headed for a third annual drop after BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group in Australia and Brazil’s Vale SA boosted low-cost production while demand growth slowed in China. The port inventories, which are tracked as one gauge of demand in the largest user, climbed by 3.8 percent in the three months to September, snapping four quarters of declines. Global seaborne supplies are poised to expand this quarter with inaugural exports due from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill mine in Australia’s ore-rich Pilbara.
Shipping activity at Port Qasim on February 11
KARACHI: Three ships namely, Glen Canyon, Al-Salam- II and TSM Pollux carrying Containers, Gas oil and Palm oil were arranged...
