Spot iron ore prices gains amid supply issues

13-November-2018

Seaborne iron ore prices ended the week above $77/dmt as the participants felt that the market will experience supply tightness due to derailment of train of BHP Billiton.

Further, the data from the China Iron and Steel Association showed that average daily crude steel production at its member mills stood at 1.97 million tonnes over Oct. 1-20, nearly matching September’s 1.98 million tonnes.

Looking at the benchmark for seaborne spot iron ore prices, Platts assessed the 62% Fe IODEX & TSI Iron Ore Fines at $77.25/dmt CFR North China on Friday. Meanwhile, TSI 58% Fe Fines, 1.5% Al, CFR Qingdao port closed the week at $68.95/dmt.

Most actively traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.9 percent at 3,975 yuan a tonne on Friday, having touched a 3-1/2-month low of 3,878 yuan on Thursday. Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange hit a one-week high of 525.50 yuan per tonne and was last up 1.6 percent at 523 yuan.