Wednesday, April 20,
Spot iron ore prices fell by $2-3/MT as volatile Chinese steel futures prices kept buyers cautious.* Indian exporters quoted Fe 63.5/63 at $182-183/MT but could harldly see buying interest.
The upcoming Easter holidays in China also limited trading activities in the iron ore physical market.
According to traders based in China, “There’s a herd mentality among Chinese mills. When one stops buying, they all stop buying and with volatile steel prices, there’s little incentive to buy iron ore”.
Chinese steelmakers usually look to steel prices when deciding whether to purchase the key steel-producing material. A surge in Shanghai steel rebar futures to record highs in February lifted spot iron ore prices to all-time peaks near $200 a tonne in the same month. But Shanghai rebar has dropped around 8 percent since then and a similar decline in iron ore prices has been noticed.
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