Sea-borne iron ore drops marginally in the week

Sea-borne iron ore was broadly rangebound in the week’s trade, depicting marginal decline week on week as steel prices in China declined. However, the buying interest improved slightly as the traders were looking to acquire position.    

Looking at the benchmark for seaborne spot iron ore prices, Platts assessed the 62% Fe IODEX & TSI Iron Ore Fines at $66.40/dmt CFR North China on Friday. Meanwhile, TSI 58% Fe Fines, 1.5% Al, CFR Qingdao port closed the week at $56.40/dmt.

Futures Trade

At Dalian Commodity Exchange, the iron ore futures edged up after a three-day fall. It gained 0.3 percent to 490.5 yuan a tonne.

The most-traded coking coal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 2.2 percent to 1,290 yuan a tonne on Friday, although stringent environmental checks in major coking coal producing regions curbed output of the fuel.

Coke contract for January delivery lost 0.4 percent to 2,544 yuan a tonne after a report on Wednesday said regulators were probing the industrial association for allegedly monopolising coke prices.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Shanghai rebar on Wednesday hit 4,418 yuan ($642.71) a tonne, its highest in nearly seven years. It closed 0.5 percent higher at 4,334 yuan a tonne on Friday. ssHowever, the most-active steel contract marked its worst week since early July, down 1.2 percent, as investors locked in gains