Iron Ore Market in Brief: Prices fall back after downturn in futures, steel markets
On Wednesday May 8, the seaborne iron ore prices fell again back with a downturn trend in both futures and steel markets.
MB 62% FE IRON ORE INDEX: USD 95.57 per ton CFR Qingdao, down USD 0.58 per ton.
MB 62% FE PILBARA BLEND FINES INDEX: USD 94.25 per ton CFR Qingdao, down USD 0.58 per ton.
MB 62% FE IRON ORE INDEX-LOW ALUMINA: USD 98.29 per ton CFR Qingdao, down USD 0.57 per ton.
MB 58% FE PREMIUM INDEX: USD 86.15 per ton CFR Qingdao, down USD 0.21 per ton.
MB 65% FE IRON ORE INDEX: USD 109.80 per ton CFR Qingdao, down USD 0.60 per ton.
MB 62% FE CHINA PORT PRICE INDEX: 684 Yuan per wet metric ton (implied 62% Fe China Port Price USD 92.58 per dry ton), down 5 Yuan per WMT.
KEY DRIVERS
China’s steel and iron ore futures retreated on Wednesday afternoon, while the spot rebar and hot-rolled coil prices also fell 20-50 Yuan (USD 3-7.40) per ton for the day. Spot iron ore trading at Chinese ports slowed down compared with Tuesday, and transaction prices for 62% Fe Australian products declined.
According to some sources, while bids came in at lower levels, some sellers refused to let stock go cheap, considering their high purchase costs and healthy consumption demand from steelmakers. Despite ongoing restrictions on sintering and blast furnace operations in Tangshan, no obvious dent in iron ore demand has been felt, a mill source in north China said.
The seaborne iron ore market stayed quiet in the day with no deals reported, either through miner tenders or on platforms. Iron ore exports from Western Australia’s Port of Port Hedland rose 15.4% month on month in April to 42 million tons, although this was down 1.4% year on year, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA).
Around 34.62 million tons of iron ore cargoes were exported bound for China from the port last month, up 12.8% from 30.68 million tons in March. China imported 80.77 million tons of iron ore in April, down by 2.6% on the year and 6.5% lower than March’s volume, according to the country’s preliminary customs data. Imports totaled 340.21 million tons in the first four months, down by 3.7% from a year earlier, it said.
Daily MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index fell USD 0.58 per ton, while the daily MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index decreased by USD 0.60 per ton.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The appreciating US dollar against Chinese Yuan recently has added iron ore import cost for buyers in China, which would support iron ore prices at Chinese ports,” a trading source in Beijing said.
Report By: Mehrdad Najafi
