Iron Ore Market in Brief: Physical iron ore prices advanced amid gains in futures market
Physical iron ore prices rose on Monday April 29 amid gains in China’s futures market.
KEY DRIVERS
China’s ferrous futures picked up across the board during the day, with the benchmark iron ore contract leading gains to end 2.3% higher than the last Friday’s settlement level.
The country’s hot-rolled coil prices also rose 20 Yuan (USD 3) per ton from last Friday. Chinese steelmakers continued to restock iron ore from ports ahead of the May 1-4 Labor Day holiday break, and port prices increased moderately.
Several fixed-price seaborne cargoes were sold on platforms or privately by miners in the day, while no secondary market transactions were heard, sources said. Daily MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index rose by USD 0.47 per ton, while the daily MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index increased by USD1.90 per ton.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Current prices for mainstream seaborne cargoes are leaving limited profit margin for traders, so we are only trading price spreads and doing arbitrage in the derivatives markets,” a trader in Shanghai said.
Report By: Mehrdad Najafi
