During the week ending January 29, prices of imported iron ore in China have indicated a decreasing trend, while transaction activity for imported iron ore has seen some improvement as steelmakers increased their purchase volumes. At the same time, traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan have followed a stable trend, while prices of domestic production iron ore in Liaoning Province have seen slight declines.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $75.3/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $76.9/mt and prices of the same material are at $64.1/mt in Beipiao, Liaoning, 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, traders and miners have decreased their sales prices for iron ore as steelmakers have insisted on paying lower prices. Since steelmakers need to replenish their stocks before the Spring Festival holiday (February 18-24), they have stepped up their purchases. In order to increase sales activities, domestic miners have also mostly cut their iron ore prices by a slight margin.
Commodity prices in the international markets, including prices of ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals, have continued to soften amid bearish sentiment. This also contributes to expectations that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will continue their downward trend in the coming week.