Iron ore prices inch up today, but not as strong as expected after holiday

Import iron ore prices in China have indicated slight increases today, Thursday, May 9, though they have been softer than expected and have posted small declines compared to the pre-holiday period amid insufficient demand.

Iron ore fines with 62 percent Fe content have seen a rise of $0.95/mt on May 9 to $115.9/mt CFR. This level is $0.6/mt below that seen on April 30, the last day before the holiday. Brazilian iron ore with 65 percent Fe stands at $132/mt CFR, moving up by $0.5/mt week on week, SteelOrbis has learned.

32 deals for a total of 292,400 mt of iron ore have been transacted on May 9 at the Corex platform. In particular, 3,858 mt of 63.06 percent fines were transacted at RMB 858/mt ($121/mt) delivered.  

During the given week, import iron ore prices have seen slight decreases as downstream users have been unwilling to build up stocks following the Labor Day holiday. Ferrous metal futures prices have moved down over the past two trading days, exerting a negative impact on market sentiments. Recently, steelmakers’ profitability has not been so good, and so they have been unwilling to increase blast furnace outputs, which will weaken the demand for iron ore. Cautious sentiments prevail among market players.

Iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have decreased by 1.65 percent today to RMB 865.5/mt ($122/mt) compared to the previous trading day, May 8, while decreasing by RMB 14/mt ($2.0/mt) compared to April 25.

As of May 9, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,669/mt ($517/mt), remaining stable since April 25, while down 0.89 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 8.

Imported iron ore prices in China (week-on-week basis)

Price includes VAT.

Nationwide iron ore concentrate prices (66 percent Fe)

Price includes VAT. 

$1 = RMB 7.1028