During the week ending January 15, prices of imported iron ore in China have indicated a decreasing trend, shifting from a rising trend in the previous week, while transaction activity for imported iron ore has been at decent levels. At the same time, traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan have followed a declining trend, while their offers in Liaoning Province have remained stable. The transaction activity for domestic iron ore has been slack.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $77.4/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $77.4/mt and prices of the same material are at $66.1/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.
During the given week, the significant declines in Chinese domestic finished steel and semi-finished steel prices have caused Chinese steelmakers to lower their purchase prices for iron ore, dragging down import iron ore prices and also affecting local iron ore prices in Tangshan. However, some small miners in Liaoning Province have idled their production, providing a certain degree of support for iron ore prices in Liaoning. Overall, since global iron ore prices have declined by almost 50 percent compared to the record historical highs, iron ore prices are unlikely to see further sharp declines. It is expected that iron ore prices in China will move sideways in the coming week.