Friday, December 24,
China iron ore import prices remained steady on Friday, amid a lack of interest in large purchases among steel mills because of an uncertain price outlook after the New Year holiday.
Offers of Indian ore fines with 63.5 percent iron content stood steady at $176-177 per tonne on Friday, CFR delivered to China, unchanged since the middle of this week, traders said.
“Trading has been relatively weak late this week as buyers are waiting for a clearer price trend after the new year holiday,” said an iron ore trader in eastern China.
Many steel mills still intend to buy more stocks for holiday consumption, while the tightening capital crunch has curbed big purchases for materials already sitting at ports.
“Steel mills are facing a dilemma – they don’t have much money to buy spot materials, but they also don’t want to take the risk of importing materials at high prices, despite lower capital pressure in buying via letter of credit,” said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.
Two major iron ore indexes stayed at seven-month highs, but moved in different directions on Thursday, reflecting mixed views on the market trend for the near future.
The Metal Bulletin Iron Ore Index rose 62 cents to $168.59 per tonne on Thursday while the Steel Index 62 percent slipped slightly to $170.7 per tonne.
Source: Reuters
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