Monday, May 23,
Spot iron ore market in China remains weak on Monday.* Traders are not really showing any keenness to take positions and end users not showing any keenness for active buying thereby increasing the price spread between buyers and sellers.
Indian exporters quote Fe 63.5/63 at $180/MT and say the buying interest is extremely low.
Some Chinese steel mills are opting to buy ore from domestic mines because they are cheaper and financing terms are easier.
“If a domestic supplier sends 10,000 tonnes of ore, for example, to a steel mill this month, he can get paid next month. But for imported ore, if you want to buy now, you have to pay now and in cash,” said an iron ore trader in China’s eastern Shandong province.
Inventory of imported iron ore at major Chinese ports have also reached a record high of 83.54 million tonnes last week. So, a bigger stockpile of imported iron ore at Chinese ports is keeping the demand for fresh cargoes thin.
Sellers are still expecting the prices to settle somewhere mid to high $180 and buyers expect prices to reach around $170-180 for Fe 63.5/63 cargo. Market may not see any drastic directional change this week except there maybe some action due to the continued stretch of silence and the need for more cargoes.
Leave a Reply