Seaborne iron ore inches up marginally



KATM Exclusive

Spot iron ore in the sea borne trade gained a bit momentum as the news of strong steel demand in China buoyed the trade. Despite the reduced steel consumption in China in the recent weeks, the sentiments remained robust about the steel demand supporting the price uptick.

Onto the benchmark for seaborne iron ore prices, Platts assessed the 62% Fe IODEX & TSI Iron Ore Fines at $64.45/dmt CFR North China on Friday. Meanwhile, TSI 58% Fe Fines, 1.5% Al, CFR Qingdao port closed the week at $54.45/dmt.

Paper market

Iron ore futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange increased Friday, with the most liquid September contract last trading at Yuan 474/dmt ($71.64/dmt), up Yuan 6.50/dmt day on day, and settling at Yuan 472/dmt, up Yuan 5.50/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 3,807/mt ($575.37/mt), up Yuan 63/mt day on day, and last settled at Yuan 3,783/mt