Iron ore prices have declined today, May 20, after three days of increase. Most sources believe this is due to slightly slower purchasing activity, but overall sentiments have remained positive so far. The price for iron ore with 62 percent Fe has lost $1.5/mt today to $96/mt CFR, but is still $5.5/mt higher compared to last week. Fines with 65 percent of Fe have been assessed at $112.5/mt CFR, down by $2/mt from yesterday.
A deal for 110,000 mt of 65 percent Fe fines has been done at $112.5/mt CFR, SteelOrbis learned. Trading activity in Chinese ports have also lowered on Wednesday.
At the same time, the overall mood in the market has remained good. Futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange have increased by RMB 6.5/mt ($0.9/mt) to RMB 704.5/mt ($99/mt). Some worries about possible lower supply volumes from Brazil due to the ongoing pandemic have been supporting prices above $95/mt CFR recently.
Over the past few weeks, demand for steel and iron ore has been healthy and only if steel sales slacken will iron ore pricing be affected, sources have said. Rebar futures prices have lost RMB 26/mt ($3.7/mt) today to RMB 3,531/mt ($499/mt).
China has decided to facilitate imports of iron ore and skip sampling inspections for product quality, which will support the sales of big miners, according to a recent statement of China’s General Administration of Customs.
