During the week ending March 31, prices of imported iron ore in China have mostly indicated a declining trend, while prices of some imported iron ores have remained unchanged, with transaction activity for imported iron ore better than in the previous week, though still on the slow side. At the same time, traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan and Liaoning Province have remained on a stable trend.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $70.3/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $78.9/mt and prices of the same material are at $62.3/mt in Beipiao, Liaoning, both excluding VAT. Prices of domestic production and imported iron ore in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Since prices of imported lump ore have been higher than prices of fine ores with the same Fe content, Chinese steelmakers have been slower to purchase lump ore, resulting in a declining trend in lump ore prices. Although finished steel prices have indicated a rebound, prices of iron ore futures and coke futures have decreased sharply, reflecting the bearish sentiment in the raw materials market and contributing to the soft trend of iron ore spot market prices. Lately, the rising trend of finished steel prices has slowed down and this will likely have a negatively impact on iron ore prices. It is expected that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will move sideways in the coming week.