Iron Ore Market in Brief: range-bound prices after China’s holiday
Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Friday September 13 due to a muted market and Chinese public holiday.
Commodity | Price | Difference / MT |
MB 62% FE IRON ORE FINES INDEX | USD 98.45 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.85 USD |
MB 62% FE PILBARA BLEND FINES INDEX | USD 98.84 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.85 USD |
MB 62% FE IRON ORE INDEX-LOW ALUMINA | USD 96.94 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.66 USD |
MB 58% FE PREMIUM INDEX | USD 86.48 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.09 USD |
MB 65% FE IRON ORE INDEX | USD 105.30 per ton CFR Qingdao | -0.30 USD |
MB 62% FE CHINA PORT PRICE INDEX | 785 Yuan per wet metric ton | +17 Yuan |
MARKET DRIVERS
The Futures iron ore market of China opened on a high price on Monday however the price was corrected lower during the day, ending a benchmark January contract nearly 10 Yuan per MT lower than last Thursday end price, although the price was still 0.5% higher than day’s settlement level. The 62% Fe derivative on the Singapore Exchange also weakened in the session to end around the market-close level last Thursday, erasing the gains made on Friday.
While trading activity at Chinese ports were reportedly “not bad” at the start of the week and prices were higher, the seaborne market stayed relatively quiet. Only two cargoes of Yandi fines traded on platforms or via miner tenders in the day, at narrower discounts of USD3.20-3.28 per MT,
compared with the last traded level of USD3.40 per MT on Thursday.
Meanwhile, BHP is widening the discount for fourth-quarter term contract shipments of its 57.1% Yandi fines to 6% from zero in the third quarter, and that for 59.5% Fe Jimblebar fines to 5.5% from 5%, according to sources. It is keeping the adjustment at zero for the 60.8% Fe Mining Area C fines. These brands are priced at the monthly average of two 62% Fe indices with Fe adjusted.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Prices rose too quickly before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so today they are correcting back,” a mill source in north China said.
PORT PRICES
Pilbara Blend fines traded at around 755-790 yuan per MT in Shandong province and Tangshan city on Monday, equivalent to USD99.60-104.40 per MT CFR China in the seaborne market.
Report By: Mehrdad Najafi
