Spot Iron ore prices dropped for
the third time and weaker forward swaps pointed to further declines in spot
rates as slower steel demand in China has slashed the appetite for the raw
material.
Indian fines Fe 63.5/63 dropped a
dollar to reach $147/MT. But traders do not see the current downturn in iron
ore prices to be as the last month's freefall.
Offer prices of Australian cargoes
also fell by $2-$3/MT. Australian Newman fines were quoted $3 lower at $143-$145/MT,
C&F, and Pilbara fines went down by $2 to reach $139-$141.
BHP, the world's No. 3 iron ore
producer, sold 90,000 tonnes of Newman iron ore fines at $144 a tonne, cost and
freight, down from $147 at its last done deal, traders said. It also sold 80,000
tonnes of Yandi fines at the tender of $122/MT versus a previous done deal of
$126.
“Mills are not in a hurry to
replenish stockpiles given the recent weakness in steel prices and there are
plenty of cargoes at the ports,” said a purchasing manager for an iron ore
trading firm in Shanghai. Inventories of imported iron ore at major Chinese
ports hit a record 98.09 million tonnes last week.
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