During the week ending April 24, prices of imported iron ore in China have continued their downward movement. At the same time, traders of domestic production iron ore in the Tangshan district and in Liaoning have kept their prices stable. Overall transaction activity in the Chinese iron ore market is still slack, having weakened further.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $125.8/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $124.2/mt and prices of the same material are at $106.2/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.
Inquiries and transaction activity in China for imported iron ore have declined and so traders and miners have had to lower their prices for imported ore in order to stimulate sales. Traders have told SteelOrbis that domestic steelmakers are adopting a flexible approach based on the situation in the finished steel markets: if finished steel prices indicate corrections, then the steelmakers quickly lower their purchase prices for imported iron ore. Considering that offer prices from the major overseas miners have followed a stable trend in recent days, it is expected that imported iron ore prices in China will stop declining and instead move on a stable trend in the coming week.