The downtrend has resumed in the seaborne iron ore market today, Thursday, August 29, after a pause yesterday as demand has been at low levels and as there have been more concerns regarding raw material consumption in September. Prices for Australian iron ore fines with 62 percent Fe content have lost $1/mt over the day, falling to $81.25/mt CFR, while Brazilian 65 percent Fe fines have softened by the same amount to $90.5/mt CFR.
There was only one deal registered at GlobalOre today. About 170,000 mt of 62 percent Fe content Pilbara fines was sold based on the October index. The shipment is planned for September 25-October 4. Overall trading activity is weak as port stocks have been increasing, while there are mixed sentiments in the steel market.
Moreover, according to the latest rumors, the production cuts in Tangshan may be increased from 20-30 percent up to 50 percent for September 1-27, SteelOrbis has been informed. At the moment, mills are working at high capacity utilization rates, but if some stricter cuts are implemented this will hurt iron ore consumption.
At the same time, January iron ore futures at the Dalian Commodity exchange have inched up by RMR 4/mt ($0.6/mt) today to RMB 584/mt ($82/mt).
