Iron ore price rises again today amid property support hopes, down week on week

Import iron ore prices in China have increased today, Thursday, November 30, following futures prices, after declines seen in the first half of the week when the price level slipped below $130/mt CFR after government intervention on pricing.

Iron ore fines with 62 percent Fe content has risen by $1.55/mt today to $131.5/mt CFR. This level is $2.7/mt below that seen one week ago. Brazilian iron ore with 65 percent Fe has indicated an increase of $1.5/mt on November 30 to $143.95/mt CFR, while down $2.35/mt week on week, SteelOrbis has learned.

Seven deals for a total of 364,000 mt have been concluded at the Corex platform today, including 170,000 mt of 62 percent PB fines traded at the January index + $2.35/mt, for shipment during January 4-13, and 170,000 mt of 62 percent PB fines traded at the same price with shipment during January 2-11.

During the given week, import iron ore prices have indicated slight decreases as several government departments requested that the relevant enterprises in the iron ore market should operate in accordance with the law and not disseminate speculative information about iron ore price hikes, which exerted a negative impact on the iron ore market. For instance, iron ore futures prices decreased by 2.61 percent on November 28 and declined by 0.47 percent on November 29.

However, iron ore futures prices rose again by 1.36 percent on November 30, which signaled firm market sentiments, especially following the news of financial institutions being required to offer solid support to the real estate industry. Consumption of rebar has been slack in the winter season, which will weaken the demand for iron ore. At the same time, the delivery of iron ore in the global market is expected to decrease slightly in the coming week, which could bolster prices to a certain degree. It is expected that import iron ore prices in the Chinese market will edge down in the coming week amid the anticipated increase in inventory levels.

Iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have risen by RMB 13/mt ($1.8/mt) or 1.36 percent to RMB 969.5/mt ($136.5/mt) compared to the previous trading day (November 29), while decreasing by RMB 7/mt compared to November 23.

As of Thursday, November 30, rebar futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,913/mt ($551/mt), decreasing by RMB 21/mt ($3/mt) or down 0.5 percent since November 23, while increasing by 0.23 percent compared to the previous trading day (November 29).

Imported iron ore prices in China (week-on-week basis)   

Price includes VAT.

Nationwide iron ore concentrate prices (66 percent Fe)

Price includes VAT.

$1 = RMB 7.1018