For Clue on Iron Ore Price Trend, Watch China Port Holdings
- Stockpiles to rise 10 million tons by year-end, Macquarie says
- `Chinese steel production is likely to be cut,' Hamilton says
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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.