Count down starts in iron ore market

SteelOrbis Shanghai Since it has been proven untrue that Chinese steel mills accepted the 19 percent price hike, Chinese iron ore prices could not continue the upward trend of the previous week. However, the mines are generally optimistic about the future market and the steel mills do not lower the purchase prices. The market is ready to rise. Throughout last week, except the rise in Brazilian ore prices, the prices of other imported ore and domestic ore did not see any obvious change. Nevertheless, the market got prepared for the rise. In one side, the inventory of steel mills began to decrease, especially for the steel mills in the south, which will urge them to hike purchase prices. Although the steel mills in the north are abundant in inventory, they do not dare to lower the purchase prices as before, so the prices remain stable. On the other side, mines in all areas are becoming more confident regarding the future of the market. All mines, large or small-sized, are unwilling to sell a lot at the current price level. At present, domestic mines and traders are waiting for the final negotiation result between Baosteel and the three iron ore giants. It is estimated that, if Baosteel accepts the 19 percent increase, the price of 66 percent damp base iron ore in Tangshan is expected to exceed RMB 600/mt ($75), excluding tax.