During the week ending May 22, prices of imported iron ore in China have continued their downward movement, while at the same time traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in the Tangshan district and in Liaoning have also indicated a decreasing trend. Transaction activity for both imported and domestic iron ore has improved compared to the previous week.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $114.4/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $116mt and prices of the same material are at $99.7/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, the Chinese iron ore market has seen an overall downtrend amid a lack of recovery in sentiment among market players. However, Chinese steelmakers have been making more inquiries for iron ore as they need to replenish their inventories, while transaction activity has increased. Some traders have seen decreases in their inventory levels following the reductions in their sales prices. Meanwhile, the blast furnaces of medium-sized and large steelmakers in China are operating at good capacity utilization levels of 85-90 percent. It is thought that iron ore prices in China will remain stable in the coming week following the declines already observed in previous weeks.