Today, Tuesday, February 11, iron ore prices have increased as sentiments have improved and buyers have started to gradually come back to the market. The slowdown of the spread of the coronavirus in China and the government’s intention to support economic growth have been among the major reasons for the improved outlook. Iron ore prices with 62 percent Fe content have added $3.5/mt to $85.5/mt CFR today, while ex-Brazil fines with 65 percent Fe have increased by the same amount to $101.8/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned.
The sale of a combined cargo of Jimblebar fines and Mac fines totaling 170,000 mt has been heard based on the April index with discounts of $7.9/mt for Jimblebar and $1.9/mt for Mac for March shipment. Moreover, a deal for 120,000 mt of high quality Brazilian fines with 65 percent Fe content has been closed at $101.8/mt CFR at the COREX platform. Most sources have mentioned that trading activity has started to revive, but further development is still unclear.
Iron ore futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange have closed at RMB 605.5/mt ($86.6/mt) today, up 4.3 percent or RMB 25.5/mt ($3.6/mt) from yesterday. Experts have started to say that the coronavirus spread is near its peak and that the situation will have improved by the end of the month. The number of new confirmed cases has declined for the second time since the beginning of the epidemic. There were 2,097 new cases on Monday, down from 2,618 over the previous day. Nevertheless, the overall situation is still serious, with the death toll exceeding 1,000 and over 42,000 cases of infection confirmed in total.
Chinese President Xi Jinping stated on Monday during a visit to a residential community, a hospital and a district center for disease control in Beijing that China's long-term economic growth remained stable and that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak will be short-lived. He also said that close attention must be paid to employment and large-scale layoffs should be avoided, as reported by the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Steel futures have also improved on Tuesday. Rebar at Shanghai Future Exchange has added RMB 89/mt ($13/mt) or 2.7 percent, while HRC futures have increased by RMB 72/mt ($10/mt) or 2.2 percent over the day.
