Iron ore prices run past $72/dmt mark

24-December-2018

Iron ore prices inked more gains in the sea-borne market as the gains in the steel prices in China supported the increments in steelmaking raw materials on the concerns over tight supply and  tightened environmental measures in Tangshan.

Looking at the benchmark for seaborne spot iron ore prices, Platts assessed the 62% Fe IODEX & TSI Iron Ore Fines at $72.30/dmt CFR North China on Friday. Meanwhile, TSI 58% Fe Fines, 1.5% Al, CFR Qingdao port closed the week at $64.90/dmt.

Onto the paper markets, the most active steel rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 1.5% higher to 3,508 yuan ($508.86) a tonne, after touching a 5-week peak earlier on Friday. Further, the most-traded iron ore contract for May delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed 1.2% to 497 yuan a tonne. Coke futures gained 0.8% to 1,993 yuan, while coking coal prices edged up 0.3% to 1,198.5 yuan.