During the week ending April 10, prices of imported iron ore in China have continued to move on an upward trend, while transaction activity has remained at good levels. At the same time, traders of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan and Liaoning have kept their prices stable.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $130.7/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $122.5/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.
Improvements in the domestic markets for semi-finished and finished steel have provided a certain degree of support for iron ore prices in China. In addition, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange and iron ore futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange have continued to move in an upward direction, also contributing to the optimism on the prospects for the iron ore market in China, at least in the short term. For the coming week, iron ore prices in China are expected to continue to move up. However, as for the long-term trend, it is thought that it may be difficult for iron ore prices to maintain their upward movement given the increase in production capacities.