Iron ore prices in China have maintained a rather strong trend this week and, even though they have not posted any further significant increase like last week, market sources agree that they have some support for now and will not roll back in the near term.
The price of iron ore with 62 percent Fe content has posted a small decline of $0.4/mt today, May 14, compared to yesterday, to $112.8/mt CFR, which, however, is stable week on week. Prices of fines with 65 percent Fe content are at $127.7/mt CFR, down by $0.5/mt from yesterday, but $0.7/mt higher than a week ago.
31 deals totaling 448,100 mt of iron ore have been signed at the Corex platform on May 14. And in general demand has been slowing down compared to last week. In particular, 20,000 mt of 61.29 percent Fe fines were sold at RMB 780/mt ($114/mt), for delivery at Huanghua port, 14,880 mt of 56.32 percent Fe FMG ultra fines were transacted at RMB 669/mt ($97.8/mt), for delivery at Tianjin port, and 10,000 mt of 56.57 percent Fe FMG ultra fines were traded at RMB 669/mt ($97.8/mt), for delivery at Huanghua port.
On May 14, Corex’s Iron Ore Portside Index (61% Fe Qingdao) and Iron Ore Portside Index (61% Fe Caofeidian) stand at RMB 788/wmt and RMB 796/wmt, with the USD/dmt equivalents standing at $108.25 and $108.7, respectively.
During the given week, import iron ore prices moved up first and edged down later. China’s steel products have attracted more interest in the global market and major mills have been obtaining orders, resulting in increasing export orders and supporting steel production plans. This has supported iron ore at above $110/mt CFR as well as some decline in inventories of iron ore at Chinese ports. The iron ore volumes arriving at ports will decrease next week, which will provide some support for prices. But it will be very hard for iron ore prices to move up further as even the current level is assessed as being pretty high and mills will resist $115/mt CFR, trying to protect their margins. It is thought that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will fluctuate in a narrow range in the coming week.
Iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have remained stable today at RMB 817/mt ($119.4/mt) compared to the previous trading day, May 13, while also moving sideways compared to May 7.
As of May 14, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,255/mt ($478/mt), decreasing by RMB 18/mt ($7.0/mt) or 0.55 percent since May 7, while up 0.15 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 13.
Imported iron ore prices in China (week-on-week basis)
| Product name | Iron Content |
Truck loaded price (RMB/mt) |
Change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Change ($/mt) |
| Newman iron ore lump | 63/63.5 | 950 | +20 | 138.9 | +3.1 |
| Yandi fines | 58/59 | 779 | -1 | 113.9 | 0.0 |
| PB Fines | 62 | 793 | -1 | 115.9 | 0.0 |
| PB iron ore lump | 62/63 | 957 | +7 | 139.9 | +1.2 |
| Brazil fines | 63 | 849 | +14 | 124.1 | +2.2 |
Price includes VAT.
Nationwide iron ore concentrate prices (66 percent Fe)
| Place of origin | Market price （RMB/mt, Incl. VAT) | Change (RMB/mt) |
Price（$/mt) | Change ($/mt) |
| Tangshan | 893 | 0 | 131 | 0 |
| Beipiao | 853 | +5 | 125 | +1 |
Price includes VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.8401
