The price for ex-Brazil sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents has reached $220/mt in the Chinese spot market, CFR China conditions, against $216/mt earlier this week and in an uptrend now spanning two weeks.
Sources mentioned that restrictions in steel production imposed by Chinese authorities in Tangshan have raised steel prices and margins, leading to decisions by producers to restock iron ore.
Meanwhile, iron ore imports continue to increase in Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, as local steel production is increasing, with steel producers also increasing their iron ore stocks.
Sources also mentioned that players in the seaborne iron ore market are very sensitive to any negative supply news, such as the port closures seen recently in Brazil, with operations suspended by civil authorities for CSN and Vale, despite being canceled by environmental authorities a few hours after the announcements.
Reflecting the environmental qualities of the Brazilian high-grade ore, reducing the volume of emissions in blast furnaces, the iron unit of such ore commands today a premium of 14 percent over the iron unit of the Australian 62 percent iron contents, the highest figure since January 2019.