During the week ending September 18, prices of imported iron ore in China have indicated a slight rebound, while transaction activity for imported iron ore has been poor. At the same time, traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan and in Liaoning Province have softened slightly, while transaction activity for domestic iron ore has also been sluggish.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $97.9/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $99.5/mt and prices of the same material are at $88.1/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.
Under the influence of some upticks seen in prices of semi-finished steel and also of finished steel, traders have increased their sales prices for iron ore, though most market participants do not believe the rising trend will last long.
At the same time, domestic production iron ore prices have been less competitive than prices of imported iron ore and so Chinese steelmakers have reduced their purchases of domestic production iron ore, negatively impacting prices of domestic ore. Meanwhile, $80/mt is regarded as a price level which is gaining strong support in the market. It is expected that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will follow a stable trend in the coming week, with slight fluctuations also possible.