Iron ore prices in China have edged up after the recent holiday, amid a strong revival of demand after the break, increasing steel production, and hikes in futures prices.
Iron ore with 62 percent Fe content is priced at $112.8/mt CFR today, May 7, increasing by $0.35/mt from the previous day and up $2.85/mt compared to April 30, the last day before the holiday. Prices of fines with 65 percent Fe content are at $127/mt CFR, up by $0.25/mt from yesterday and up $2.65/mt over the past week.
47 deals totaling 758,000 mt of iron ore have been signed at the Corex platform on May 7. In particular, 20,000 mt of 61.41 percent Fe fines were sold at RMB 775/mt ($113.1/mt), for delivery at Jingtang port, while 17,200 mt of 60.7 percent Fe fines were transacted at RMB 808/mt ($118/mt), for delivery at Huanghua port, and 12,000 mt of 56.57 percent Fe FMG ultra fines were sold at RMB 678/mt ($99/mt), for delivery at Jingtang port.
On May 7, Corex’s Iron Ore Portside Index (61% Fe Qingdao) and Iron Ore Portside Index (61% Fe Caofeidian) stand at RMB 792/wmt and RMB 804/wmt, with the US dollar equivalent prices standing at $108.56/dmt and $109.56/dmt.
During the given week, import iron ore prices have moved up, while transaction activities have slowed down due to the impact of the Labor Day holiday. Lump ore attracted close attention from downstream users, resulting in firm prices at ports. Molten iron output declined in the given week, while inventory of iron ore at ports also decreased. As for the coming week, iron ore deliveries are expected to fluctuate within a limited range at high levels, which will increase the iron ore arriving at ports. At the same time, molten iron output is likely to increase following the holiday. It is expected that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will fluctuate within a limited range with a positive bias in the coming period, but further big rises will be difficult to achieve as mills have just started their campaign to gradually increase local and export steel prices and much higher iron ore prices would damage their margins.
Iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have increased by 0.62 percent today to RMB 817/mt ($119.3/mt) compared to the previous trading day, May 6, while rising by 2.6 percent compared to April 30.
As of May 7, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,273/mt ($478/mt), increasing by RMB 59/mt ($7.0/mt) or 1.8 percent since April 30, while up 0.83 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 6.
Imported iron ore prices in China (week-on-week basis)
| Product name | Iron Content |
Truck loaded price (RMB/mt) |
Change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Change ($/mt) |
| Newman iron ore lump | 63/63.5 | 930 | 19 | 135.8 | 3.0 |
| Yandi fines | 58 / 59 | 780 | 18 | 113.9 | 2.9 |
| PB Fines | 62 | 794 | 18 | 115.9 | 2.9 |
| PB iron ore lump | 62/63 | 950 | 20 | 138.7 | 3.2 |
| Brazil fines | 63 | 835 | 22 | 121.9 | 3.5 |
Price includes VAT.
Nationwide iron ore concentrate prices (66 percent Fe)
| Place of origin | Market price （RMB/mt, Incl. VAT) | Change (RMB/mt) |
Price（$/mt) | Change ($/mt) |
| Tangshan | 893 | 17 | 130 | 3 |
| Beipiao | 848 | 0 | 124 | 0 |
Price includes VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.8487
