During the week ending August 28, prices of imported iron ore in China have mostly followed a slight downtrend, while at the same time traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan have also indicated a soft trend, though traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Liaoning Province have remained stable. Transaction activity for both domestic iron ore and imported iron ore has been slack.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $102.3/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $103.1/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, steelmakers have been pushing for lower iron ore prices against the backdrop of softer prices for semi-finished and finished steel, while traders have agreed to reduce their prices in order to stimulate sales activities. Meanwhile, iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have indicated a large decrease, contributing to poor sentiment in the domestic iron ore market. Declines in imported iron ore prices have exerted a negative impact on the market for domestic iron ore, with Chinese iron ore producers slightly reducing their sales prices. For instance, Shandong Jinling Mining Co. has lowered its ex-works price for iron ore by RMB 20/mt ($3.25/mt). Moreover, iron ore inventory levels on the steelmakers' side have been at high levels and so steelmakers are less inclined to conclude purchases, also given the tightness of liquidity near the end of the month. It is expected that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will continue a downtrend in the coming week.