The spot iron ore market in China continued to be steady on
Thursday with offers for Indian fines Fe 63.5/63 at $148-150/MT. There are very
few buyers in the market so sellers may have to adjusting their offer price
accordingly.
“The iron ore market's going nowhere. This is mainly because
there is not much positive support from the steel market, so the buying
activity is limited,” said a purchasing manager for an iron ore trading
firm in Shanghai.
Top iron ore miner Vale sold two cargoes this week at prices
lower than index-based reference prices which stood at stood at $148 on
Wednesday. One cargo with 246,000 tonnes of 64.4-grade iron ore fines was sold
at $144.15/MT, C&F, and another shipment with 236,000 tonnes of 63.2-grade
fines was sold at $141.5/MT, both via tenders.
China steel futures dipped marginally on Thursday,
stretching a steady trend this week and pointing to lean demand in China that
has been curbing its appetite for iron ore.
The most traded May rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange slipped 0.1 percent to reach 4,177 yuan a tonne by the midday break.
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