Spot iron ore prices rose further
on Tuesday as a rebound in steel prices encouraged buying of the raw material in
China. Offers for Fe 63.5/63 reached $147-148/MT i.e. up by $1/MT. Australian PB
fines was also tendered higher by $1.5 and sold at $142.5/MT CFR.
Prices of Chinese steel products
have been gradually rising since last week as demand picks up ahead of
construction project restarts in March. That bodes well for iron ore which was
off to a slow start this year given slack Chinese buying interest since after
the Lunar New Year break in January.
The price of steel billet in the
key Tangshan area has risen by about 50 yuan ($8) a tonne from last week, said
a trader from China's eastern Shandong province.
“More and more people are
coming back to the steel market to purchase since most construction work is
resuming or getting started,” said the Shandong trader.
That should sustain buying
interest in iron ore, which the trader expects to continue until next month,
supporting prices.
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