Tuesday, November 02,
Fewer supplies of higher grade iron ore from India and modest demand from top consumer China has kept the prices firm on Tuesday.
Prices of Fe 63.5 cargo is being quoted at $156/MT. The Steel Index 62 percent iron ore benchmark rose 0.5 percent to $149.90 a tonne, cost and freight delivered in China, on Monday after falling to a three-week low on Friday.
Steel prices in China, the world’s biggest market for the alloy, have been mostly steady in recent weeks as market players await more possible government restrictions in the sector for the rest of the year. Baoshan Iron & Steel, China’s biggest listed steelmaker, said on Monday it expects steel demand to remain steady in 2011, given uncertainties facing the industry, although prices of iron ore should stay high.
“Some steel mills are still relying on their own inventories, and a few mills, whose power supplies are still being restricted, have not figured out what to do next, so the iron ore market is still quite weak,” said an iron ore trader in Beijing.
Prices in forward swaps were mostly steady on Monday after big gains in the previous session. The Singapore Exchange-cleared November contract rose 0.2 percent to $147.87 a tonne, and the December contract slipped 0.4 percent to $144.88 a tonne.
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