Iron Ore Market in Brief: Chinese Buyers indicated sustained interest for premium low-vol materials
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to fall on Tuesday August 20 amid limited buying activity.
Commodity | Price | Difference / MT |
MB 62% FE IRON ORE FINES INDEX | USD 87.94 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.46 USD |
MB 62% FE PILBARA BLEND FINES INDEX | USD 88.32 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.46 USD |
MB 62% FE IRON ORE INDEX-LOW ALUMINA | USD 87.79 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.42 USD |
MB 58% FE PREMIUM INDEX | USD 76.28 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.30 USD |
MB 65% FE IRON ORE INDEX | USD 96.00 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.90 USD |
MB 62% FE CHINA PORT PRICE INDEX | 725 Yuan per wet metric ton | -1 Yuan |
KEY DRIVERS
China’s steel and iron ore futures largely trended downward during the day, with the benchmark contracts losing 0.5-2.2% compared with the previous day’s settlement levels. Spot iron ore trading at Chinese ports was limited, with prices edging down, while the seaborne market was even quieter.
Cargoes of Brazilian fines offered at fixed prices on platforms attracted no bids and a miner’s tender for Pilbara Blend fines had failed to lead to a deal by the time of publication. Separately, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has, for the first time since the end of last, started to widen its downward price adjustment for its 56.5% Fe Super Special fines.
The miner is setting the adjustment at 11% based on a 62% Fe index for September term-contract shipments, compared with 6% for August cargoes, according to sources. It had been narrowing its adjustment since October and November 2018 when it was 42%.
For its 58.2% Fe Fortescue Blend fines, FMG is widening the adjustment to 6% for September, up from 4% for the current month. Iron ore indices fell across the board on Tuesday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We have stocked up a bit on port materials last week, so this week we are in no hurry to buy iron ore and may wait till Thursday or Friday,” a mill source in north China said.
PORT PRICES
Pilbara Blend fines were traded at around 720-730 Yuan per ton in Shandong province and Tangshan city on Tuesday, compared with 725-740 Yuan per ton a day earlier. The latest price range was equivalent to USD95.20-96.60 per ton CFR China in the seaborne market.
Report By: Javad Najafi
