Inventories of iron ore at 25 of China's major sea ports rose by 380,000 metric tons to hit a total of 93.45 million metric tons on June 6, according to the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index released on Tuesday.
The index, compiled by the Xinhua News Agency, tracks iron ore inventories and imports in Chinese spot markets through research and analysis of data from 25 major ports.
The index for 63.5-percent-purity iron ore imports fell by 4 points to hit 175 points, while that for 58-percent-purity iron ore imports slipped by 3 points week-on-week to rest at 144 points.
Rio Tinto, BHP and Vale, the world's three largest iron ore suppliers, have scaled down their previously offered third-quarter prices for many steel factories, a move that has also strengthened the market's expectations for the downward correction of iron ore prices, according to Xinhua analysts.
A Xinhua market survey last week showed that China's current inventories of iron ore were enough to satisfy the demands of domestic steelmakers for at least one more month.
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