Mon Mar 7, 2011 3:31am GMT
SINGAPORE, March 7 (Reuters) - Spot iron ore prices extended losses on Monday, after China's No. 3 steelmaker, Wuhan, said global miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Vale were capable of setting prices arbitrarily, and port stocks in the top consumer held near historic highs last week.
Indian ore with 63.5 percent iron content was quoted in China at $182-$184 a tonne, including freight, on Monday, down from $183-$185 on Friday, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
Stockpiles of imported iron ore at major Chinese ports dipped 260,000 tonnes to end at 80.79 million tonnes last week, Mysteel said on Friday.
But with inventories holding near historic highs and Chinese steelmakers critical of high prices, there was a risk the downtrend in the spot market could continue.
"The cost of extracting 1 tonne of iron ore is $20, delivery costs are $56 and it is selling for $180-$190 -- this is a monopoly in the true sense of the word," said Wuhan Iron and Steel president Deng Qilin said on Saturday at a news conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing.
Falling steel prices, huge stockpiles of iron ore at Chinese ports and tighter liquidity are keeping Chinese steel mills and traders from snapping up ore even as exports from No. 3 supplier India get more costly after the country announced plans to raise export taxes and freight rates.
But India's mineral industries body wants the government to abandon plans for a fourfold hike in export duties of low-grade ore.
The 200-member strong Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) will ask for a full rollback of planned export duties on iron ore lumps and fines to pre-budget levels on Monday, Secretary-General R.K. Sharma said on Friday.
The most active rebar contract for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was little changed on Monday at 4,822 yuan per tonne, after having slid to 4,770 yuan on Friday, its weakest since Dec. 1.
Key iron ore indexes, which global miners use in setting quarterly contract prices, extended losses on Friday.
Tags :rebar contract for Oct delivery, iron ore key indexes, FIMI, iron ore port stocks
Platts 62 percent iron ore benchmark IODBZ00-PLT fell $2 to $178 a tonne. It has lost 7.8 percent in the past 12 sessions since hitting a record high of $193 in mid-February.
The Steel Index's 62 percent gauge .IO62-CNI=SI slipped $1.30 to $176.60 and Metal Bulletin's index .IO62-CNO=MB dropped $1 to $176.83.
The Dalian Commodities Exchange, which predominantly focuses on agricultural commodities, submitted a proposal to the government at the end of last year to launch the world's first metallurgical coke contract, its Vice President Li Jun told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Malaysia.
"We are still waiting for approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, we hope it will be launched this year," he said. (sourced:Reuters)
Indian ore with 63.5 percent iron content was quoted in China at $182-$184 a tonne, including freight, on Monday, down from $183-$185 on Friday, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
Stockpiles of imported iron ore at major Chinese ports dipped 260,000 tonnes to end at 80.79 million tonnes last week, Mysteel said on Friday.
But with inventories holding near historic highs and Chinese steelmakers critical of high prices, there was a risk the downtrend in the spot market could continue.
"The cost of extracting 1 tonne of iron ore is $20, delivery costs are $56 and it is selling for $180-$190 -- this is a monopoly in the true sense of the word," said Wuhan Iron and Steel president Deng Qilin said on Saturday at a news conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing.
Falling steel prices, huge stockpiles of iron ore at Chinese ports and tighter liquidity are keeping Chinese steel mills and traders from snapping up ore even as exports from No. 3 supplier India get more costly after the country announced plans to raise export taxes and freight rates.
But India's mineral industries body wants the government to abandon plans for a fourfold hike in export duties of low-grade ore.
The 200-member strong Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) will ask for a full rollback of planned export duties on iron ore lumps and fines to pre-budget levels on Monday, Secretary-General R.K. Sharma said on Friday.
The most active rebar contract for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was little changed on Monday at 4,822 yuan per tonne, after having slid to 4,770 yuan on Friday, its weakest since Dec. 1.
Key iron ore indexes, which global miners use in setting quarterly contract prices, extended losses on Friday.
Tags :rebar contract for Oct delivery, iron ore key indexes, FIMI, iron ore port stocks
Platts 62 percent iron ore benchmark IODBZ00-PLT fell $2 to $178 a tonne. It has lost 7.8 percent in the past 12 sessions since hitting a record high of $193 in mid-February.
The Steel Index's 62 percent gauge .IO62-CNI=SI slipped $1.30 to $176.60 and Metal Bulletin's index .IO62-CNO=MB dropped $1 to $176.83.
The Dalian Commodities Exchange, which predominantly focuses on agricultural commodities, submitted a proposal to the government at the end of last year to launch the world's first metallurgical coke contract, its Vice President Li Jun told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Malaysia.
"We are still waiting for approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, we hope it will be launched this year," he said. (sourced:Reuters)
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