Tuesday, February 08,
Spot iron ore prices remained steady on Tuesday with physical market activity only expected to pick up later in the week when top consumer China returns from a week-long Lunar New Year break.
“It’s seasonal restocking time and prices rose before the Chinese New Year as people tried to secure supplies before the holiday kicked in and there’s usually a bit of a kick after the New Year as well,” said James Wilson, analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland in Perth.
“People are keeping a close eye on what happens after the Chinese return after the holidays but we’re expecting it to be positive.”
The market was mostly quite at the start of the week with a few tentative inquiries, TSI said in a note, adding “activity can be expected to start picking up again gradually later in the week, as the holiday period comes to an end.”
The forward swaps market reflected investors’ upbeat sentiment with prices gaining on Monday.
The Singapore Exchange-cleared February contract raised $1.50 to $184.75 a tonne, March climbed $2.12 to $176.37 and April gained $1.75 to $167.87.
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