Iron ore prices continued to surge yesterday, despite some hesitation on futures markets as concerns over current iron ore supply weighed on the complex. Here are the latest prices, with rebar and coking coal dropping slightly:
Seaborne volumes are in a slight decline:
After a two-week rise, iron ore volumes dispatched from 19 ports and 16 mining companies in Australia and Brazil – the biggest suppliers to top steel producer China – declined over Dec 28-Jan 3 by over 1 million tonnes, or 4.3%, from the week before, Mysteel consultancy reported.
At the same time, portside iron ore inventory in China shrank to 126.75 million tonnes as of Dec. 31, down 4.1% from last year’s peak of 132.15 million tonnes recorded on Nov. 13, SteelHome data showed.
“Despite well-balanced iron ore market fundamentals, iron ore prices have reacted to relatively lower weekly shipments out of Australia and Brazil,” said Atilla Widnell, managing director at Navigate Commodities in Singapore.
Additional support emanated from the U.S. dollar depreciation and an indication of the beginning of China’s seasonal steel restocking cycle over the past few days, he said.