During the week ending July 3, prices of imported iron ore in China have generally indicated a slight rebound, while at the same time traders' offers of domestic production iron ore in Tangshan and Liaoning have remained stable. Transaction activity for both imported and domestic iron ore has continued to improve.
At present, Indian fine ores of 63.5 percent grade are offered at $109.5/mt at Qingdao port. Meanwhile, quotations of 66 percent iron ore concentrate in Tangshan stand at $106.2/mt and prices of the same material are at $89.9/mt in Beipiao, both excluding VAT. Prices of domestic production and imported iron ore in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the given week, domestic steelmakers have continued to step up their purchases of imported iron ore, providing a certain degree of support for iron ore prices in the spot market. However, sentiment in the market is still a little on the cautious side, preventing significant rises in iron ore prices. Meanwhile, confidence has been improving in the steel market and more and more market players believe that steel prices will likely move up from their current low levels in the near future, though further confirmation is needed from the demand side. It is expected that iron ore prices in the Chinese market will fluctuate within a narrow range in the coming week.