Iron ore prices moved down on October 9, while shifting to an increase again on Thursday, October 10, as sentiments in the steel market improved following the announcement of production restrictions in Tangshan. Moreover, sources have said that restocking has started to be observed in the market. Prices for 62 percent Fe iron ore fines have added $3/mt to $94/mt CFR compared to October 9. Brazilian fines with 65 percent Fe content have increased by $2.6/mt to $100/mt CFR.
A Rio Tinto tender for 170,000 mt of Pilbara lumps has been closed based on the November index plus $0.8/mt. Brazilian blend fines have been sold on the COREX trading platform at the November index with $4.4/mt extra. Tangshan in China’s Hebei province, a major steelmaking area in the country, has announced that it is planning to continue restrictions on local steelmakers’ production in the October 10-31 period, which provides support for steel prices.
On October 10, rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange have risen by RMB 12/mt ($1.7/mt) to RMB 3,415/mt ($476/mt) compared to October 8. Iron ore futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange have gained RMB 7/mt ($1/mt) to RMB 657.5/mt ($93/mt) on October 10 compared to the previous day.