Spot iron ore prices unmoved at $175-177 cfr

Courtsey news via Metal Bulletin Ltd.
Shanghai 30 December 2010 08:15
Spot prices for 63.5% Fe Indian fines remained at $175-177 per tonne cfr main Chinese ports on Thursday, December,2010 with most market participants still on the sidelines. Mainstream offers were still unchanged at $176-178 per tonnes cfr.
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Courtsey news via Metal Bulletin Ltd.
Spot iron ore prices stable at $175-177 cfr on MondayShanghai 27 December 2010 08:03
Spot prices for 63.5% Indian fines stood unchanged at $175-177 cfr Chinese ports on the first working day after Christmas. Offers from Indian miners for 63.5% fines have reached nearly $180 cfr, while offers from traders stand at around $178 cfr. “Now that iron ore prices have reached...
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http://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/2741741/Iron/Spot-iron-ore-prices-stable-at-175-177-cfr-on-Monday.html
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Iron Ore-China demand slower, India traders hope for $180/T
Courtsey news via Thomson Reuters, Editing by Ramthan Hussain
Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:57am GMT
China mills curtail buying on uncertain price outlook * India traders hope for $180/T C&F for 63.5 grade next week * Swap market inactive on Christmas eve By Ruchira Singh and Ruby Lian NEW DELHI/SHANGHAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Asian iron ore prices were stable on Friday as Chinese mills curtailed purchases, though Indian traders saw more upside on expectations that China may need to stock up in the weeks before the Lunar New Year holidays in February. "There is no major bulk buying going on maybe because it is the end of the year," said Ranjan Chhibba, an iron ore and coal trader in New Delhi. "But because of low availability, prices may stay firm." Offers of Indian ore fines with 63.5 percent iron content held at $177-179 per tonne on Friday, CFR delivered to China, unchanged since the middle of this week, traders said. "It could go up to $180 a tonne next week, but whether it is sustainable or not, will have to be seen," said Dhruv Goel of trading firm SKTC in east India. Two major iron ore indexes stayed at seven-month highs, but moved in different directions on Thursday, reflecting mixed views on the near-term market trend.
The Metal Bulletin Iron Ore Index .IO62-CNO=MB rose 62 cents to $168.59 per tonne on Thursday, while the Steel Index 62 percent .IO62-CNI=SI slipped to $170.7 per tonne.
"Trading has been relatively weak late this week as buyers are waiting for a clearer price trend after the new year holiday," said an iron ore trader in eastern China.
TIGHT CAPITAL FOR STEEL MILLS
Many steel mills still aim to buy more stocks for holiday consumption, while the tightening capital crunch has curbed big purchases for materials already sitting at ports, traders in China said.
"Steel mills are facing a dilemma -- they don't have much money to buy spot materials, but they also don't want to take the risk of importing materials at high prices, despite lower capital pressure in buying via letter of credit," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai. The iron ore swap market stayed inactive as it has been for most of this week with may traders on holidays, and is seen reviving only in the first week of January. The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index , which tracks rates to ship dry commodities including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell to a five-month low of 1,795 points on Thursday as a slowdown in cargo business hit sentiment. [ID:nLDE6BM1J5]