During the week ending October 9, prices of imported iron ore in China have moved on a sideways trend, while transaction activity for imported iron ore has been slack. At the same time, traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan have indicated an uptrend as traders have sought to test the market, while offers of domestic production iron ore in Liaoning Province have continued to move down, with transaction activity for domestic iron ore generally being sluggish.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $97.9/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $97.9/mt and prices of the same material are at $86.5/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.
Due to the rebound seen in imported iron ore futures prices, some traders have increased their offer prices for domestic production iron ore, while most traders are maintaining a wait-and-see stance as the long holiday has just ended and a recovery in transaction activity is still awaited. After the holiday, some replenishment of iron ore inventories by steelmakers has provided a certain degree of support for domestic production iron ore prices in Tangshan. It is thought that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will likely follow an uptrend in the coming week.