Iron ore futures rose above CNY 720 per ton to near two-week highs as the market focused on tighter near-term supply after global shipments and arrivals at Chinese ports both fell in the week through August 9. Industry data showed global iron ore shipments declined by 1.38 million tons to around 32 million tons, while volumes arriving at Chinese ports dropped by 13.1 million tons to 18.9 million tons. Supply concerns also intensified as more workers joined a strike at BHP’s Port Hedland iron ore export hub in Western Australia, although vessel loading operations have continued. On the demand side, China imported 108.086 million tons of iron ore and concentrates in July, down 4.09% from June but up 3.5% from a year earlier. Inflation data released over the weekend showed China’s consumer and producer inflation slowed in July, underscoring continued weakness in domestic demand in the top-consuming market.