Spot iron ore prices fell towards the end of week

KATM Exclusive

Spot iron ore price neared $80/dry mt mark during the midweek, as the buying was robust but the prices saw corrections in the past few days as the news of US putting hefty tariffs on the import of steel marred the sentiments.

US president have indicated that the duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum on the imports will be levied, which is expected to be formally announced in the next week. China is the world’s largest steel producing country and accounts for about 2 percent of direct steel imports by the US.

Having a look at the benchmark iron ore prices closing for the week, Platts assessed the 62% Fe IODEX & TSI Iron Ore Fines at $77.65/dry mt CFR North China on Friday, depicting a fall of $1.95/dry mt for the day. Moreover, TSI 58% Fe Fines, 1.5% Al, CFR Qingdao port closed the week at $63.85/dry mt.

Futures market

Meanwhile, Chinese futures retreated on Friday after a five-day rally as ample inventories of the building material weighed, with little impact on market sentiment from US President Donald Trump’s plan to impose hefty tariffs on imported steel.

Iron ore futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell Friday, with the most liquid May contract last trading at Yuan 539/dmt ($85.10/dmt), down Yuan 5.50/dmt on the day, and settling at Yuan 539.5/dmt, down Yuan 4.5/dmt over the same period.

Steel rebar futures dropped too, with the most actively traded May contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange last traded at Yuan 4024/mt ($635.36/mt), down Yuan 8/mt on day, and last settled at Yuan 4009/mt, down Yuan 27/mt over the same period