Global iron ore prices are assessed at USD 59.2/MT CFR China on 28 Jul’16. Prices sharply moved up by USD 4/MT starting this week.
Prime reason behind the surge in prices was call for investigation for anti-dumping duties on iron ore imports from Australia and Brazil . Chinese miners want an antidumping investigation into iron ore imported from the world’s top suppliers, complaining that low-cost majors namely Vale, and Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are flooding the market.
The call for protection from top miners comes against a backdrop of increasing anti-dumping measures on Chinese steel in Europe, India and the US.
In addition, tighter steel supplies due to environmental inspection on steel mills in Beijing city has also supported global iron ore prices to move up. Alongside, there is a restriction on using sintering in Tangshan which has also supported steel prices to drive up.
Steel market in China continued to remain firm due to ongoing environmental inspection in Beijing city which resulted in output cuts at some mills. Prices of spot rebar rose by RMB 40-60/MT. Current prices for spot rebar is hovering at RMB 2,480/MT (USD 381/MT).
On similar lines, spot billet prices at Tangshan city rose by RMB 30/MT (USD 4.6/MT). Current prices for spot billet are at RMB 2,120/MT (USD 326/MT).
Today the Dalian Future Exchange rose by 3.28% and Shanghai Future Exchange rose by 3.12%. The seaborne iron ore market remained tight, with sellers reluctant to let go of cargo in anticipation of further gains, and buyers also taking a wait-and-see approach.
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