Iron ore prices have declined today, Monday, February 10, as supply concerns have eased after the successful resumption of operations of major ports in Australia, while demand from Chinese customers is still weak. Prices for iron ore fines with 62 percent Fe content have dropped by $0.8/mt to $82/mt CFR today, while Brazilian fines with 65 percent Fe have lost $1.5/mt to $98.3/mt CFR on the same day, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
According to the Pilbara Ports Authority, the Port of Port Hedland was re-opened on February 8, while the total port closure time was 25.5 hours. The Port of Dampier restarted work at 4 p.m. on February 10. As reported earlier, these ports were closed on Friday ahead of Cyclone Damien. Most sources said that there would be no impact on iron ore supply from the short port closures.
At the same time, demand for iron ore has been very weak with no deals reported on trading platforms. Only small volumes in national currency have been traded.
Iron ore futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange have lost RMB 4/mt ($0.6/mt) since Friday and have come to RMB 581.5/mt ($84/mt).
