Commodities

Here are the iron ore price charts for January 27, 2016: Tianjin benchmark rose 1.2 % to $41.3o as the restock continues.

A couple of notes today make clear just how far iron ore costs have fallen and therefore prices will keep falling.

From the World Steel Association: World crude steel production reached 1,622.8 million tonnes (Mt) for the year 2015, down by -2.8% compared to 2014.

Here are the iron ore charts for January 26, 2015: Tianjin benchmark fell -$0.3, or 0.7%, to $US40.80.

The Brent oil price sank yesterday but rebounded overnight to finish up a little at $32.38 as I write.

Big iron has plenty of reasons to rally – wider commodities rebound, ongoing Chinese restocking, Brazilian port outage – but it ain’t happening.

There is a lot of media poppycock today vis-a-vis the commodity crash and market ructions so I’ve complied a list of folks to scratch off your list of those worth listening to.

From Matthew Stevens at the AFR: Over the last five years corporate Australia has raised a cool $667 billion in US denominated debt ($970 billion) on the international capital market.

It appears I missed all of the fun.

Here are the iron ore price charts for January 22, 2016: Welcome back and thanks to Chris for holding the fort.

As Davos proceeds, “aylites” everywhere might take a moment to consider what they’ve wrought.

Stocks keep trying and failing to rally, media keeps telling punters to buy and trashing its credibility, the sell side is focused on this tactical cause or that without tying it all together.

From The Oz’n’Chips: Australian Bauxite has mothballed its mine in northeastern Tasmania, the state government says.

From fastFT, with news just in that BHP Billiton is making a $7.2billion writedown on its US shale assets: An impairment charge by the Anglo-Australian miner, a big player in US onshore oil and gas, had been expected but the amount makes it the largest announced by BHP during the mining downturn.

Big iron ore and gas are in free fall again with Trevor Sykes’s credibility.

I noted yesterday that FMG was at the brink and today it is over it trading at a new post-GFC low of $1.54: Next stop the GFC low at $1.13 and thence on to oblivion.

The Chinese New Year will be upon us in a few weeks, plus a week long Spring festival that has the dual effect of clearing some air pollution but also possibly giving some relief to risk markets.

From Fairfax: Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has reignited his push for a senate inquiry into Australia’s iron ore industry, blaming the nation’s major miners for “killing off” last year’s efforts to examine the factors behind the iron ore price collapse.

It’s daily.

The Mining GFC can’t catch a break.