Prices of ex-Australia iron ore of 62 percent Fe content for delivery to China’s Qingdao port, which were at $47-48/mt CFR last week, have remained more or less unchanged since last Friday and have started this week at $47-47.5/mt CFR. Meanwhile, ore inventories at Chinese ports have continued to rise. As of November 9, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 84.66 million mt, up 2.42 million mt or 2.94 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on November 2, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency. Besides, in the January-October period of this year China’s apparent consumption of steel decreased by 5.7 percent year on year, as announced by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Accordingly, there are increased expectations that global iron ore prices will move on a soft trend in the coming period.
Meanwhile, pellet producer Samarco, the joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton, has been found responsible by the Brazilian government for the explosion which occurred at the company’s iron ore waste dam located in Minas Gerais state. Brazil’s president Dilma Roussef has stated that the company will pay a fine of $66 million for damage to the environment and water supplies and for other impacts. Furthermore, iron ore output from Vale's Fabrica Nova and Timbopeba mines will be cut by 3 million mt in 2015 and by 9 million mt in 2016.