Iron ore futures fell below CNY 770 a ton, hitting a seven-week low as rising supply coincided with seasonally weaker demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Analysts noted that iron ore inventories at Chinese ports are near record highs, while stockpiles at steel mills have also continued to build. Mills have also scaled back output and largely completed restocking as the holiday approaches, while several blast furnaces and electric-arc furnaces have paused operations for planned maintenance, raising concerns over near-term feedstock demand. That said, industry data showed blast furnace utilization remained above 86%, higher than the previous week, and daily hot metal output rose by 21,000 tons week-on-week. Elsewhere, iron ore shipments from Australia and Brazil accelerated in late January, adding further pressure to near-term supply.
