Wed Nov 30, 2011
* Iron ore has lost over 11 pct in 6 days
* Weaker steel demand limiting Chinese buying interest
SINGAPORE/SHANGHAI, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Offer prices for iron ore fell further on Wednesday as spot rates dropped to three-week lows with steelmakers in top producer China largely staying out of the market amid thin demand.
Iron ore with 62 percent iron content dropped 0.9 percent to $130.80 a tonne on Tuesday, said the Steel Index .IO62-CNI=SI, the lowest since Nov. 8. Iron ore has lost more than 11 percent in the last six consecutive trading days, trimming this month's gain to 10.5 percent. A 14-day rally earlier this month saw prices surging more than 26 percent after a slump in September and October.
"The buying activity from steel mills has been falling this week and I don't see any improvement in the iron ore market till the end of this year since demand for steel, particularly from the construction sector, is shrinking sharply," said an iron ore trader in Tangshan city in Hebei province, China's top steel producing region.
"The overall market is worried about the European debt crisis." The most-traded May rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.2 percent to close at 4,075 yuan a tonne, more than wiping out Tuesday's gain and tracking weakness in other commodities spurred by the lack of bolder measures to resolve a two-year-old sovereign debt crisis in Europe.
Euro zone ministers agreed to ramp up the firepower of their rescue fund and may turn to the International Monetary Fund for more help as a stunning leap in Italy's borrowing costs pushed the region closer to financial disaster.
"The situation in Europe and the world has significantly worsened over the past few weeks. Market stress has intensified," said Christian Noyer, France's central bank governor and a governing council member of the European Central Bank.
"We are now looking at a true financial crisis -- that is a broad-based disruption in financial markets," he said at a conference in Singapore. Amid thin demand, sellers cut prices of iron ore cargoes further, with Australian Pilbara fines down a dollar to $131-$133 a tonne and Newman fines $2 lower at $135-$137 a tonne, said Chinese consultancy Umetal.
"Some traders are worried that iron ore prices will be very likely to fall further, so they have started selling more at lower prices," said an iron ore trader in China's eastern Shandong province. "But this isn't large-scale activity as the buying remains weak," he added.
But Steel Index said with spot steel and billet prices in China edging up this week, some mills in Hebei may return to the market next week to replenish their iron ore stockpiles.
(sourced Reuters)
Showing posts with label China's iron ore spot prices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China's iron ore spot prices. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Iron Ore-Spot prices may retreat after rally, China rebar falls
Mon Nov 21, 2011
* Iron ore steadies after gaining 26 pct in 14 days
* Shanghai rebar falls over 2 pct, sluggish demand
SINGAPORE, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Iron ore may fall this week as the market takes a breather after a rally seen to have taken place too swiftly, with sluggish steel demand in top consumer China likely to curb buying of the raw material.
Iron ore with 62 percent iron content eased 0.1 percent to $147.40 a tonne on Friday, according to the Steel Index .IO62-CNI=SI, ending a 14-day rally which was the commodity's longest winning streak.
Iron ore gained more than 26 percent during that period, quickly rebounding from a slide of 31 percent in October, although traders said volumes in the spot market had not been big and prices may have outpaced fundamentals.
"The feeling is it's risen a little bit too quickly from the previous lows and it's beginning to get to that point where it's looking a bit toppish," said Rory MacDonald, iron ore broker at Freight Investor Services.
MacDonald said the recent rally in iron ore prices was "not driven by huge hunger for iron ore".
"End-user demand for steel in China is very, very subdued. People are not very optimistic, bordering on bearish for the rest of this year and the beginning of next year through into the Lunar New Year holidays," he added.
A decline in China steel prices, reflecting sluggish demand, gives mills less reason to produce more, cutting appetite for iron ore.
Steelmakers across Asia, including the Chinese, have been dropping prices to deal with weaker demand.
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co, Japan's biggest construction steelmaker, on Monday said it would cut steel prices across the board by 5,000 yen ($65) per tonne to cope with poor demand at home and head off potential increases in steel imports from Asian rivals.
The most-traded May rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 2.1 percent to 4,066 yuan ($640) a tonne on Monday, its second day of decline.
Steel prices in China's spot market have similarly dropped over the weekend, with billet down by 70 yuan a tonne in the key province of Hebei, said an iron ore trader in the port city of Rizhao in eastern Shandong province.
Iron ore prices may drop by $5-$10 a tonne for the rest of November, with "many Chinese steel mills having finished restocking in the past two weeks," he said.
"I don't expect another big drop in prices because spot supply is still tight and we may see mills come back to the market next month for winter restocking."
Offer prices for Australian iron ore in China slipped a dollar on Monday, with 61.5-percent grade Pilbara fines quoted at $145-$147 a tonne, including freight, and 63-percent grade Newman fines at $150-$152, said Chinese consultancy Umetal.
* Iron ore steadies after gaining 26 pct in 14 days
* Shanghai rebar falls over 2 pct, sluggish demand
SINGAPORE, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Iron ore may fall this week as the market takes a breather after a rally seen to have taken place too swiftly, with sluggish steel demand in top consumer China likely to curb buying of the raw material.
Iron ore with 62 percent iron content eased 0.1 percent to $147.40 a tonne on Friday, according to the Steel Index .IO62-CNI=SI, ending a 14-day rally which was the commodity's longest winning streak.
Iron ore gained more than 26 percent during that period, quickly rebounding from a slide of 31 percent in October, although traders said volumes in the spot market had not been big and prices may have outpaced fundamentals.
"The feeling is it's risen a little bit too quickly from the previous lows and it's beginning to get to that point where it's looking a bit toppish," said Rory MacDonald, iron ore broker at Freight Investor Services.
MacDonald said the recent rally in iron ore prices was "not driven by huge hunger for iron ore".
"End-user demand for steel in China is very, very subdued. People are not very optimistic, bordering on bearish for the rest of this year and the beginning of next year through into the Lunar New Year holidays," he added.
A decline in China steel prices, reflecting sluggish demand, gives mills less reason to produce more, cutting appetite for iron ore.
Steelmakers across Asia, including the Chinese, have been dropping prices to deal with weaker demand.
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co, Japan's biggest construction steelmaker, on Monday said it would cut steel prices across the board by 5,000 yen ($65) per tonne to cope with poor demand at home and head off potential increases in steel imports from Asian rivals.
The most-traded May rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 2.1 percent to 4,066 yuan ($640) a tonne on Monday, its second day of decline.
Steel prices in China's spot market have similarly dropped over the weekend, with billet down by 70 yuan a tonne in the key province of Hebei, said an iron ore trader in the port city of Rizhao in eastern Shandong province.
Iron ore prices may drop by $5-$10 a tonne for the rest of November, with "many Chinese steel mills having finished restocking in the past two weeks," he said.
"I don't expect another big drop in prices because spot supply is still tight and we may see mills come back to the market next month for winter restocking."
Offer prices for Australian iron ore in China slipped a dollar on Monday, with 61.5-percent grade Pilbara fines quoted at $145-$147 a tonne, including freight, and 63-percent grade Newman fines at $150-$152, said Chinese consultancy Umetal.
hanghai rebar futures and iron ore indexes at 0355 GMT
Contract Last Change Pct Change
SHANGHAI REBAR* 4066 -88.00 -2.12
PLATTS 62 PCT INDEX 148 -0.50 -0.34
THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX 147.4 -0.20 -0.14
METAL BULLETIN INDEX 145.97 -2.15 -1.45
*In yuan/tonne
#Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day
($1=76.9000 Japanese yen)
($1=6.3554 Chinese yuan)
(sourced Reuters)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Iron Ore-Spot price on course for worst week ever
Sat, 29 October 2011
Spot iron ore prices are headed for their worst week ever as miners continued to ship cargoes even as demand from top consumer China remained slack.
But stabilising prices of forward swaps and growing inquiries from Chinese steel mills suggest the freefall in iron ore -- which has lost 34 percent of its value since early September -- may soon hit a bottom.
Iron ore with 62 percent iron content fell more than 6 percent to $120 a tonne on Thursday, according to Platts IODBZ00-PLT, its lowest since July 2010.
The steelmaking ingredient has dropped 16.7 percent so far this week, its steepest decline on record.
Top iron ore producer Vale is waiting to sell around 10-15 capesize cargoes, with each shipment at around 150,000 tonnes, while second-ranked Rio Tinto needs to liquidate around 15 million tonnes of Australian material, said a Singapore-based trader.
Vale, Rio and BHP Billiton , which together control more than two thirds of the global seaborne iron ore market, continue to produce at full capacity despite the slump in iron ore prices because they are betting on China's long-term demand remaining strong.
"All these are putting pressure on the market so the slide will continue for at least three more days including today. But if the paper market continues to go up it will give confidence to the mills and they'll start buying, maybe later part of next week," he said.
"But if the iron ore prices goes up, it won't be so fast because a lot of new tonnage will come into the market," he added.
Prices of forward swaps cleared by the Singapore Exchange <0#SGXIOS:> rose on Thursday after recent heavy losses, with the November and December contracts gaining $2 each to $118.83 and $118.17 a tonne, respectively.
The volume of SGX swaps hit a record 1,736 lots, or 868,000 tonnes, on Thursday. Open interest also reached an all-time high of 10,487 lots, or 5.2 million tonnes, according to the SGX website.
Rising inquiries from Chinese mills and more stable steel prices also spurred hopes iron ore prices could rebound soon.
"More mills have started inquiring so the market may find a bottom soon. They are showing interest and talking numbers while before they have simply dismissed offers," said a purchasing manager for an iron ore trading firm in Shanghai.
Shanghai steel futures rose 2 percent to close at 4,123 yuan a tonne on Friday, gaining 4.2 percent for the week, its first gain in seven weeks. The recent falls in steel prices saw Chinese mills curbing output with average daily crude steel production dropping to 1.7998 million tonnes over the Oct. 11-20 period, the first time it has fallen below 1.9 million tonnes since February, data from the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) showed on Thursday.
source: Reuters
Spot iron ore prices are headed for their worst week ever as miners continued to ship cargoes even as demand from top consumer China remained slack.
But stabilising prices of forward swaps and growing inquiries from Chinese steel mills suggest the freefall in iron ore -- which has lost 34 percent of its value since early September -- may soon hit a bottom.
Iron ore with 62 percent iron content fell more than 6 percent to $120 a tonne on Thursday, according to Platts IODBZ00-PLT, its lowest since July 2010.
The steelmaking ingredient has dropped 16.7 percent so far this week, its steepest decline on record.
Top iron ore producer Vale is waiting to sell around 10-15 capesize cargoes, with each shipment at around 150,000 tonnes, while second-ranked Rio Tinto needs to liquidate around 15 million tonnes of Australian material, said a Singapore-based trader.
Vale, Rio and BHP Billiton , which together control more than two thirds of the global seaborne iron ore market, continue to produce at full capacity despite the slump in iron ore prices because they are betting on China's long-term demand remaining strong.
"All these are putting pressure on the market so the slide will continue for at least three more days including today. But if the paper market continues to go up it will give confidence to the mills and they'll start buying, maybe later part of next week," he said.
"But if the iron ore prices goes up, it won't be so fast because a lot of new tonnage will come into the market," he added.
Prices of forward swaps cleared by the Singapore Exchange <0#SGXIOS:> rose on Thursday after recent heavy losses, with the November and December contracts gaining $2 each to $118.83 and $118.17 a tonne, respectively.
The volume of SGX swaps hit a record 1,736 lots, or 868,000 tonnes, on Thursday. Open interest also reached an all-time high of 10,487 lots, or 5.2 million tonnes, according to the SGX website.
Rising inquiries from Chinese mills and more stable steel prices also spurred hopes iron ore prices could rebound soon.
"More mills have started inquiring so the market may find a bottom soon. They are showing interest and talking numbers while before they have simply dismissed offers," said a purchasing manager for an iron ore trading firm in Shanghai.
Shanghai steel futures rose 2 percent to close at 4,123 yuan a tonne on Friday, gaining 4.2 percent for the week, its first gain in seven weeks. The recent falls in steel prices saw Chinese mills curbing output with average daily crude steel production dropping to 1.7998 million tonnes over the Oct. 11-20 period, the first time it has fallen below 1.9 million tonnes since February, data from the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) showed on Thursday.
source: Reuters
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Iron Ore-Spot extends losses as China sits out
Tue Mar 8, 2011 4:22am GMT
SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - Spot iron ore prices extended losses on Tuesday, with Chinese buyers still shunning the market waiting for further falls or a recovery in steel prices, but supply disruptions from Western Australia could limit the downside, traders said.
Indian ore with 63.5 percent iron content was quoted in China at $181-$183 a tonne, including freight, on Tuesday, down from $182-$184 on Monday, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
The 62 percent March iron ore futures on the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) traded flat on Monday at 8,098 rupees per tonne.
Markets may see some support after Australian miner Fortescue Metals Group trimmed its March quarter production guidance to a range of 8.5-9.0 million tonnes, down 0.5 million tonnes, after heavy rains hit its mining operations in the Pilbara area of Western Australia.
Rio Tinto , which also mines iron ore in the region, said its operations had been impacted by adverse weather conditions during the first quarter, but that it will announce any impact in its quarterly report. Other smaller miners in the area may also have been affected, traders said.
"We have seen some slowing of shipments from the northern Pilbara due to the wet. It hasn't really shown up in China port stocks yet, but we could see some erosion from the current high levels," said a Sydney-based commodities trader.
Port stocks in China, above 80 million tonnes, are around record highs as Chinese consumer hold back from buying, hoping for prices to continue to fall and a pick up in steel demand.
The most active rebar contract for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was slightly lower at 4,821 yuan per tonne by the midday break, after having slid to 4,770 yuan last week, its weakest since Dec. 1.
Key iron ore indexes, which global miners use in setting quarterly contract prices, extended losses on Monday.
Platts 62 percent iron ore benchmark IODBZ00-PLT fell $1 to $177 a tonne. It has lost 8.3 percent in the past 13 sessions since hitting a record high of $193 in mid-February.
The Steel Index's 62 percent gauge .IO62-CNI=SI slipped $3.80 to $172.80 and Metal Bulletin's index .IO62-CNO=MB dropped $1.86 to $174.97. (Reporting by Nick Trevethan; Editing by Himani Sarkar,sourced:Thomson Reuters)
Tags :Chinese steel mills, Chinese steelmakers, rebar contract for Oct delivery, Shanghai Futures Exchange, Platts, Rio Tinto, Australia's Fortescue Metals Group
Indian ore with 63.5 percent iron content was quoted in China at $181-$183 a tonne, including freight, on Tuesday, down from $182-$184 on Monday, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
The 62 percent March iron ore futures on the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) traded flat on Monday at 8,098 rupees per tonne.
Markets may see some support after Australian miner Fortescue Metals Group trimmed its March quarter production guidance to a range of 8.5-9.0 million tonnes, down 0.5 million tonnes, after heavy rains hit its mining operations in the Pilbara area of Western Australia.
Rio Tinto , which also mines iron ore in the region, said its operations had been impacted by adverse weather conditions during the first quarter, but that it will announce any impact in its quarterly report. Other smaller miners in the area may also have been affected, traders said.
"We have seen some slowing of shipments from the northern Pilbara due to the wet. It hasn't really shown up in China port stocks yet, but we could see some erosion from the current high levels," said a Sydney-based commodities trader.
Port stocks in China, above 80 million tonnes, are around record highs as Chinese consumer hold back from buying, hoping for prices to continue to fall and a pick up in steel demand.
The most active rebar contract for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was slightly lower at 4,821 yuan per tonne by the midday break, after having slid to 4,770 yuan last week, its weakest since Dec. 1.
Key iron ore indexes, which global miners use in setting quarterly contract prices, extended losses on Monday.
Platts 62 percent iron ore benchmark IODBZ00-PLT fell $1 to $177 a tonne. It has lost 8.3 percent in the past 13 sessions since hitting a record high of $193 in mid-February.
The Steel Index's 62 percent gauge .IO62-CNI=SI slipped $3.80 to $172.80 and Metal Bulletin's index .IO62-CNO=MB dropped $1.86 to $174.97. (Reporting by Nick Trevethan; Editing by Himani Sarkar,sourced:Thomson Reuters)
Tags :Chinese steel mills, Chinese steelmakers, rebar contract for Oct delivery, Shanghai Futures Exchange, Platts, Rio Tinto, Australia's Fortescue Metals Group
Monday, March 7, 2011
Iron Ore-Spot price falls; China gripes about monopoly prices
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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