Iron ore prices in China have indicated a slight recovery today, Thursday, March 26, while stable at near $110/mt CFR since last week amid still high oil prices.
Iron ore with 62 percent is at $110.1/mt CFR, up by $1.8/mt from the previous day and stable over the past week. Fines with 65 percent Fe content are priced at $127.6/mt CFR, rising by $2/mt from yesterday but up just $0.2/mt from a week ago.
31 deals totaling 522,400 mt of iron ore have been signed at the Corex platform on March 26.
In particular, 40,534 mt of 60.74 percent Fe fines were transacted at RMB 750/mt ($108.7/mt), for delivery at Jiangyin port, with 30,000 mt of 56.3 percent Fe FMG ultra fines sold at RMB 670/mt ($97.1/mt), for delivery at Jingtang port.
On March 26, the Corex Iron Ore Portside Index (61% Fe Qingdao) and the Iron Ore Portside Index (61% Fe Caofeidian) stand at RMB 790/wmt and RMB 801/wmt, with the USD/dmt equivalents standing at $106.61 and $107.47.
During the given week, import iron ore prices have stayed firm as there has been no substantive easing in the US-Iran situation, and the war is expected to persist in the near term. Crude oil prices have moved up, driving energy and iron ore prices to higher levels. Demand for steel has improved in the traditional peak season, resulting in increasing molten iron outputs, which in turn bolstered iron ore prices to a certain degree. It is expected that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will witness further small rises in the coming week.
Iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have increased by 0.18 percent today to RMB 817/mt ($118.4/mt) compared to the previous trading day, March 25, while rising by 1.2 percent compared to March 12.
As of March 26, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,128/mt ($453/mt), decreasing by RMB 7/mt ($1/mt) or 0.2 percent since March 19, while down 0.35 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 25.
Imported iron ore prices in China (week-on-week basis)
| Product name | Iron Content |
Truck loaded price (RMB/mt) |
Change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Change ($/mt) |
| Newman iron ore lump | 63/63.5 | 899 | 8 | 130.2 | 1.0 |
| Yandi fines | 58 / 59 | 781 | 2 | 113.1 | 0.2 |
| PB Fines | 62 | 795 | 2 | 115.1 | 0.2 |
| PB iron ore lump | 62/63 | 905 | 1 | 131.0 | 0.0 |
| Brazil fines | 63 | 825 | 2 | 119.5 | 0.2 |
Price includes VAT.
Nationwide iron ore concentrate prices (66 percent Fe)
| Place of origin | Market price （RMB/mt, Incl. VAT) | Change (RMB/mt) |
Price（$/mt) | Change ($/mt) |
| Tangshan | 872 | 0 | 126 | 0 |
| Beipiao | 853 | 0 | 124 | 0 |
Price includes VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.9056