Iron ore and steel prices nearly stable in China

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23 January 2017

HRC prices in China have closed the week at $498-500 per tonne FOB and rebar at $430-432 per tonne FOB. The prices didn’t move much in this week amidst slow trading and destocking.

Steel mills have announced price hike by $30-40 per tonne for mid-February mainly for galvanized and coated products but the currently the market is very cold as per traders close to KATM. Export orders have also been very tight and domestically the sales are likely to pick up once the winter season subsides.

Iron ore market is fluctuating very strongly but fundamentally the current $80 per tonne levels do not hold strength. Market may see the prices inching down soon by $4-5 per tonne atleast till the buyers come back into active buying post vacations. Last transactions were noted at $80.40-80.60 per tonne levels inspite of port inventories reaching 117 million tons on Friday.

Traders believe domestic iron ore production has come to halt due to winter season so buying will continue at the current levels for some more time. Their view on the price fall below $70 per tonne is very negative. They are bullish at $75-78 per tonne levels atleast till early April.

Taking cues from China, Turkish traders have also kept their scrap price nearly constant at $282-284 per tonne. The prices are expected to swing +/- $2 per tonne in the coming week.