Sea-borne iron ore prices inch above $65/mt mark

14th April 2018

As mostly seen through the week, the spot iron ore prices in the sea-borne market inched up marginally on the final trading day of the week to breach $65/dmt mark, primarily buoyed by the gains recorded in Chinese steel and futures.

It is anticipated that the steel demand in China will strengthen during the second quarter, when demand typically rises, which also supported the prices as steel inventories have been declining. However, the participants remained cautious regarding the uptrend in the longer term.

China’s iron ore imports were 271 million tonnes in the January to March quarter, nearly flat from a year earlier, as per customs’ data. March’s imports were 85.79 million tonnes up from 84.3 million tonnes in February, but down from 95.6 million tonnes a year ago.

Looking at the benchmark iron ore prices, Platts assessed the 62% Fe IODEX & TSI Iron Ore Fines at $65.25/dmt CFR North China on Friday. Meanwhile, TSI 58% Fe Fines, 1.5% Al, CFR Qingdao port closed the week at $52.95/dmt.

Futures trade

Iron ore futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed Friday, with the most liquid September contract last trading at Yuan 453.5/dmt ($72.1/dmt), up Yuan 3.5/dmt on the day, and settling at Yuan 450/dmt, up Yuan 2/dmt over the same period.

Steel rebar futures jumped too, with the most actively traded October contract in Shanghai Futures Exchange last traded at Yuan 3,452/mt ($548.83/mt), up Yuan 50/mt on the day, and last settled at Yuan 3,422/mt, up Yuan 25/mt over the same period.