Today, Thursday, November 12, iron ore prices have edged down slightly compared to yesterday, though indicating sharp rises compared to November 5, with the changes in raw material prices mostly driven by spot quotations of rebar and domestic demand for longs in China.
Iron ore fines with 62 percent Fe content have edged down by $1.5/mt today to $123/mt CFR, while up by $6/mt week on week. Brazilian iron ore with 65 percent Fe has declined by $0.6/mt today to $135/mt CFR, but is $5.2/mt higher week on week, SteelOrbis has learned.
The demand for iron ore has been concentrated at Chinese ports on Thursday with 10 deals for iron ore concluded on November 12, including the biggest deal for 20,964 mt of 59.05 percent fines concluded at RMB 695.5 ($104.9/mt) at Caofeidian port.
During the given week, demand for iron ore has been better, which has been reflected in the number of deals in the seaborne market at trading platforms from Monday to Wednesday this week. Meanwhile, the inventory of imported iron ore at the steelmakers’ side has declined slightly, while due to the rises in coke prices and import coking coal prices, steelmakers have been cautious in accepting sharp price rises for iron ore. Iron ore shipments have increased, which may negatively affect iron ore prices in the near future.
Iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have edged up by 0.18 percent today, coming to RMB 835.5/mt ($115.8/mt), while increasing by 6.7 percent compared to November 5.
Over the past week, the main support for iron ore prices has been seen from the rebar market in China. Prices for local rebar moved up sharply early this week, touching the highest price level in 2020, but over the past two days they have edged down slightly, putting pressure on sentiments. Today's decline in iron ore prices in China compared to yesterday has been connected mainly with this slight decrease in rebar prices. On Thursday, the average spot rebar price has lost RMB 7/mt to RMB 4,150/mt ex-warehouse, while this is still RMB 187/mt higher compared to November 5.
On Thursday, rebar futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at 3,832/mt ($578.5/mt), increasing by RMB 84/mt ($12.7/mt) or 2.24 percent since November 5, while decreasing by 0.23 percent compared to the previous trading day.
Imported iron ore prices in China (week-on-week basis)
|
Product name |
Iron |
Truck loaded price |
Change |
Price |
Change |
|
Newman iron ore lump |
63/63.5 |
880 |
5 |
132.9 |
2.1 |
|
Yandi fines |
58 / 59 |
825 |
5 |
124.5 |
2.0 |
|
PB Fines |
62 |
870 |
17 |
131.3 |
3.8 |
|
PB iron ore lump |
62/63 |
904 |
11 |
136.5 |
3.0 |
|
Brazil fines |
63 |
883 |
11 |
133.3 |
3.0 |
Price includes VAT.
Nationwide iron ore concentrate prices (66 percent Fe)
|
Place of origin |
Market price （RMB/mt, Incl. VAT) |
Change |
Price（$/mt) |
Change |
|
Tangshan |
851 |
0 |
128 |
1 |
|
Beipiao |
814 |
-11 |
123 |
0 |
Price includes VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.6326