Prices of ex-Australia
iron ore of 62 percent Fe content for delivery to
China's Qingdao port, which moved in the range of $58.05-59.05/mt CFR last week, have increased by $0.5/mt since last Friday, starting the current week at $59.05-59.55/mt CFR
China. As of October 17, inventory of
iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 96.29 million mt, up 380,000 mt or 0.4 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on October 10, as announced by
China's Xinhua News Agency.
Last week,
iron ore prices, which had started the week with an upward movement due to the increases in the global coal prices and the ongoing rising trend in the Chinese domestic steel market, moved sideways in mid-week, but resumed their upward trend in the last days of the week amid the further rises seen in the Chinese domestic steel market. This week,
iron ore prices have continued their slight upward movement amid the increases in billet and hot rolled coil prices in the futures market and due to the ongoing rises in global coal prices.
Meanwhile, analysts continue to share their forecasts regarding the
iron ore prices, which have not fallen below $56-59/mt CFR
China over the past two weeks. According to analysts,
iron ore prices are expected to fall in an oversupplied market. Macquarie Research attributes the continued strength of prices to disappointing shipments, stating that one of the reasons for
iron ore prices continuing to see good support is the sluggish export performance from Australia and Brazil, as weekly port data show that since the start of September up to October 16 combined shipments have been down on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, Fortescue Metals has indicated that the price of
iron ore prices may decline heading into 2017 as the market sees additional supplies from Australia and Brazil, while high-cost domestic miners in
China continue to close down.