Iron ore prices have been moving down gradually today, Tuesday, December 17, for the second straight day, following the decline in futures prices and the unfavorable outlook for the long steel market in China.
Prices for iron ore with 62 percent Fe content have edged down by $0.4/mt today to $93.5/mt CFR, while Brazilian fines with 65 percent Fe have lost $0.5/mt to $104.5/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned.
Though the trading activity has somewhat improved, the outlook has remained negative. There have been five deals concluded at trading platforms today for about 690,000 mt. One contract for 170,000 mt of Brazilian blended fines has been done at Corex at fixed prices, at $93.95/mt CFR for shipment on January 10-19. The other four deals have been signed based on the index price.
Demand has been seen for ore of different grades, from Vale’s Carajas fines with 65 percent Fe content to Pilbara fines and lumps and Yandi Fines (58 percent Fe). The most popular iron ore futures contracts at Dalian Commodity Exchange for May next year have been closed at RMB 634,5/mt ($90.7/mt), RMB 18/mt ($2.6/mt) below the settled price on Monday.
At the same time, rebar futures prices at Shanghai Future Exchange have lost RMB 28/mt ($4/mt) today. Sentiments in the longs steel market have weakened due to limited demand and a possible increase in supply as China’s major steelmaking city of Tangshan has lifted level 2 pollution control measures.
$1 = RMB 6.997
