Posted on 15 Mar 2022
Chinese prices of imported iron ore for both spot cargoes and futures contracts continued to hover at high levels over the March 7-11 week, even though demand remained weak, according to Mysteel's latest report.
By March 11, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines had stayed above $150/dmt for over one week, and by that day the index was at $157.95/dmt CFR Qingdao, or up $2.85/dmt on week. The SEADEX price even hit $160.85/dmt on March 8, the highest since last August 16.
Similarly, Mysteel PORTDEX 62% Australian Fines in Qingdao also rallied to reach Yuan 1,031/wmt ($162.8/wmt) FOT and including 13% VAT on March 7, and while the ports price had gradually eased to Yuan 989/wmt by last Friday, the index was still Yuan 8/wmt higher on week.
In the futures market, the most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) for May delivery closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 822/dmt on March 11, gaining a small Yuan 9.5/dmt increment from the settlement price on March 4.
Nevertheless, the uptick in ore prices was more about market sentiment, with the real ore demand and buying among steelmakers - especially among those in North China's Hebei province - being still rather limited last week, Mysteel Global observed.
Last week saw many steelmakers in Hebei obliged to reduce their production as required by local governments as part of pollution control measures, as reported.
According to Mysteel's latest data, the blast furnace (BF) capacity utilization rate among the 247 steel mills under Mysteel's regular survey reversed down to 79.78% over March 4-10, after two weeks of inclines, easing by 1.71 percentage points on week.
Last week also saw demand for medium- to lower Fe grade iron ore products from steelmakers improve, with many mills enduring thinner steel margins for the time being. Lump demand among mills in North China was also relatively firm due to the production curbs on their sintering operations, Mysteel Global also observed.
By March 10, the total of imported iron ore stocks at China's 45 ports stood at around 157.1 million tonnes, according to Mysteel's survey. This was still a near four-year high, even though the volume had retreated for the third week by another 1.4 million tonnes on week.
Source:Mysteel Global
