Chinese steel mills have increased production due to improved profit margins, lifting daily iron ore consumption in early April. In the week ending April 3, average daily iron ore consumption reached 2.93 million tons, up by 3% from the previous week.

Iron ore inventories at Chinese steel mills fell below 90 million tons for the first time in early April. As of the same week, inventories at 247 mills totaled 89.34 million tons, down by 1.76 million tons year on year.

At the same time, imported iron ore inventories at Chinese ports rose to 170.6 million tons, increasing by 25.93 million tons from a year earlier. However, average daily port shipments declined to 3.12 million tons, down by 1.22 million tons year-on-year.

Following April 3, production resumptions supported by strong profits boosted spot iron ore trading. COREX data showed trading volume reached 566,300 tons on April 7, growing by 27% from March.