As of December 10, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 62 percent iron content was at 67 points, remaining stable compared to December 3. Meanwhile, the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index for imported iron ore with 58 percent iron content was at 60 points on the date in question, up one point over the same period, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency.
In the first part of the given week, iron ore traders were seeking to conclude purchases for import iron ore due to the positive impact from the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump. However, in the latter part of the given week, Chinese steelmakers’ profitability shrank significantly and so they were less willing to buy iron ore, which exerted a negative impact on the import iron ore market. As for the coming period, more steelmakers will carry out maintenance works, which will negatively affect demand for import iron ore. It is expected that import iron ore prices in the Chinese market will move sideways in the coming week.
