Import iron ore prices in China have fallen by more than $7/mt today, Tuesday, February 2, to below the $150/mt CFR mark, which was last seen in the first half of September 2020. Weak demand for the raw material because of maintenance works and ahead of the long holiday, together with the negative outlook, have exerted the main pressure on the iron ore price.
Price for iron ore with 62 percent Fe has come to $148.85/mt CFR today, down by $7.15/mt from the level of Monday and down $15.15/mt week on week. At this level, one deal for 100,000 mt of Pilbara fines with 62 percent Fe has been done at GlobalOre today. Rare bids are all below $150/mt CFR at the moment, according to sources, and trading activity will continue to be limited by the start of Chinese New Year holiday on February 11. Chinese steel mills have started their repairs, which are planned for the holiday period, while construction works in China have also started to slow down visibly.
Brazilian iron ore with 65 percent Fe has lost $8.4/mt today, coming to $172.1/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned.
Iron ore futures at the Dalian Commodity Exchange have fallen by RMB 55.5/mt ($8.6/mt) today, closing at RMB 933.5/mt ($144/mt). This signals the weak outlook for iron ore prices in a slow market for the coming weeks.
$1 = RMB 6.4736