During the week ending August 14, prices of imported iron ore in China have mostly indicated a sideways trend though with some slight downticks also seen, while at the same time traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan and Liaoning have remained stable. Transaction activity for domestic iron ore has been better than for imported iron ore.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $110/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $105.2/mt and prices of the same material are at $89/mt in Beipiao, both excluding VAT. Prices of domestic production and imported iron ore in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, Chinese steelmakers have been unwilling to purchase imported iron ore and so traders have chosen to decrease their offer prices slightly for some imported iron ore materials, while domestic production iron ore prices have mostly remained stable. Currently, iron ore supply is at decent levels, while market participants are not so optimistic on the future prospects for the market. Traders prefer to sell off inventory in order to minimize risks. Meanwhile, steelmakers have been concluding purchases in line with their needs. It is thought that iron ore prices in China will likely see a slight downtrend in the coming week.