As of January 12, the Indian 63.5 percent fine ore price at Qingdao Port stands at $166.1/mt, up $1.6/mt, while the Australian 62-63 percent lump ore price is at $167.7/mt, up $3.2/mt, both week on week. Meanwhile, in the Tangshan area the price of 66 percent iron ore concentrate is at $145.6/mt, while in Beipiao the price of the same material stands at $120.3/mt. Domestic production and import iron ore prices in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the past week, the big Australian miners have been inviting public bids for spot ore, and transaction prices have increased by a small margin. Some traders have been maintaining low inventories, and this has lately contributed to an improvement in transaction activity and the increase in prices. Because most mills have completed their purchases of iron ore, their buying activity is on the weak side. Furthermore, actual consumption of raw materials has not improved. Accordingly, it is thought that it will be difficult for import iron ore prices to continue to rise.