Via the excellent Damien Boey at Credit Suisse: Today, we have seen the Dalian iron ore futures price fall by almost 6%. Many have been expecting a pullback in prices, as supply side pressures ease. But is there more to the iron ore price story than just a supply side squeeze? After all, one could
FMG is out with its quarterly production report: QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS • Safety TRIFR of 2.8, an improvement of 22 per cent compared to 31 March 2019 and a record annual result • Record quarterly shipments of 46.6mt including 4.7mt of West Pilbara Fines • FY19 shipments of 167.7mt, one per cent lower than FY18 due
Reuters has the texture: Chinese iron ore futures fell nearly 5% on Wednesday after miner Vale SA won approval to resume some processing operations, while Shanghai rebar steel extended losses into a sixth session. The Brazilian miner said the move at the Vargem Grande complex should add 5 million tonnes to annual production, and reaffirmed
The Aussie dollar is down sharply: Bonds are at breakout levels again: XJO is at a new all time closing high if it holds: As the iron ore bubble begins to pop: Big Iron closes its eyes and whispers to itself “there’s a shortage” over and over: Big Gas is OK: Big Gold flying as
Reuters has the texture: “Investors mulled over the impact of further curbs on the Chinese steel industry,” ANZ Research said in a note, citing the latest notice from Tangshan on steel output restrictions. Tangshan has stepped up anti-pollution measures beginning July 21 until July 31 as it seeks to meet its air quality targets, a
Spot was clubbed. Paper hung on overnight. Steel is soft. Port stocks surged 3.1mt to 118.35mt. Reuters has the texture: “The inventory figures could be higher because of an increase in import volumes, or there could also be some delay in the delivery from ports to the mills,” the trader said. “We need to see
Reuters has the texture: Overall short-term macroeconomic conditions in China remain “bearish”, said commodities broker Marex Spectron. “We continue to pick up weakness in manufacturing and construction activity, which should mean steel demand will come under pressure,” said Marex analyst Hui Heng Tan in Singapore. “We are bearish on current demand conditions (for iron ore).”
Reuters has the texture: “Demand is pretty good, but on the supply side there’s a little bit of change in the momentum,” said Helen Lau, mining and metals analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. The market seems to have taken a pause, she said, following the sustained rally this year that had pushed the
Reuters has the wrap: The most-active DCE iron ore contract closed down 1.2% at 899.5 yuan a ton, while the rest of China’s ferrous complex edged higher. “You may see some correction today, or maybe tomorrow, but generally speaking, the uptrend is intact, with demand still supporting the prices,” a Shanghai-based trader said. China’s government
From the IEA last night: The main message of this Report is that in 1H19 oil supply has exceeded demand by 0.9 mb/d. Our latest data show a global surplus in 2Q19 of 0.5 mb/d versus previous expectations of a 0.5 mb/d deficit. This surplus adds to the huge stock builds seen in the second
Via BHP today: BHP managed to beat its lowered iron ore guidance on the big ramp up of output. The market could take this either way which is the intention. The volumes are increasing but short term maintenance may support bulls. Past your nose it’s another nail in the bubble.
The spot price crawled higher. Paper sold off. Steel isn’t going anywhere. In news, China is hammering speculators via Dalian price hikes, at Reuters: * China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) said it will raise transaction fees for all iron ore futures contracts to 0.01% from 0.006% of the trading value, starting July 18, the bourse
Spot jumped. Paper went nutso. Steel was firm but is still stuck. It was all about Chinese data which showed a big push into MOAR empty apartments: I just don’t think that this matters terribly. Record steel output: Hasn’t triggered much activity in Chinese iron ore imports even accounting for recent supply weakness: Presumably owing to
Via The Australian: Some 15 million tonnes of Australian thermal coal worth more than $1 billion is waiting to clear customs in China, according to industry analyst Platts, with no sign of an easing in processing delays imposed since February. “Thermal coal market participants say they are yet to see any changes to Beijing’s import
Via the AFR today: Evidence has grown in past weeks that customers in the top-tier markets of Japan and South Korea are prepared to act more aggressively than ever before in price review negotiations to reduce the large disconnect between their crude oil-based contract prices and the rock-bottom spot LNG price. …The world’s biggest LNG
Spot prices eased. Paper was stable. Steel isn’t going anywhere. Reuters sums it up: Utilization rates at steel mills across China fell to 66.02% as of Friday, the lowest since late March, data compiled by consultants Mysteel showed. That is way down on the Q1 rates. With steel inventories still at reasonable levels it appears
by Chris Becker It wasn’t just a dovish Fed boosting all undollar assets overnight as a multitude of storms lashed the crude market, not just rising tensions in the Persian Gulf increased again. From the Telegraph: A British oil tanker is sheltering off the coast of Saudi Arabia amid fears it will be seized by
Spot prices crashed. Paper too. Steel is weakening again. The culprit was easy to find, via Reuters: Executives from eight steel firms representing 30% of China’s steel output, including China Baowu Group, HBIS Group, Jiangsu Shagang Group and Ansteel Group, gathered at the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) on June 27 in Beijing, according
Spot went pop. Paper too though there was more buying overnight. Steel is caput. We’ve overcooked it here and it is going to come undone, either now or soon. Supply is returning steadily and demand is not great. The charts: Clyde Russell does an about turn: Shipments from the two major exporters, Australia and Brazil,
Spot prices stalled. Paper fell marginally overnight. Steel has flamed out as Chinese steel supply restraints have proven pretty loose, via Reuters: Tangshan, the steel hub of China, imposed last month a set of output restrictions on producers, which will remain in place until August 1. “The policy declared in Tangshan turned out to be
by Chris Becker Last night saw oil prices suddenly drop nearly 4% despite a communique from OPEC/Russia that it intends to extend its production cuts, or about 1.2% of total global demand for another nine months to support the market. Why the divergence? The daily charts of Brent and WTI Crude show how the nascent
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today released trade data for the month of May, with Australia’s trade surplus surging to $5.7 billion: The below chart shows that Australia’s trade surplus is running at the highest level on record: Both exports (credits) and imports (debits) rose: In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services credits rose
Via the AFR comes The Cartel: Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick is pushing for modifications to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism to bring down gas – and therefore electricity – prices. He has pointed to chief competition regulator Rod Sims’ suggestion of $7 a gigajoule as a potential reference point, although argues the price
Spot prices to the moon. Paper stalled. Steel fell. The charts: To me this is now quite irrational. There’s enough iron ore that can come on at this price to sink it to zero. The only question is this, from Reuters: Iron ore miner Vale SA’s chief financial officer and its former chief executive should
Via Reuters: Major supplier Brazil exported 29.40 million tonnes of iron ore in June, compared with 29.83 million tonnes in May and 35.29 million tonnes a year earlier, government data released on Monday showed. The chart: There is slow improvement here year on year: March -7.77mt April -7.54mt May -9.15mt June -5.91mt Once Brucutu is
Spot to the moon. Paper to the moon. Steel to the moon. Chinese steel output restrictions have juiced another leg in the bubble. The trade war truce is aiding sentiment too. We can tell it’s all froth from the simple fact that both will lower iron ore demand! The charts: And a few more. First,
The RBA has released its commodity price index for June, which increased by 2.1% in SDR (currency weighted) terms – the key determinant of the terms-of-trade – and by 2.3% in Australian dollar terms: Preliminary estimates for June indicate that the index increased by 2.1 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms,
Spot prices jumped to a new high. Paper went even higher. Steel has spurred the entire move on now after the Tangshan output curbs. The charts: We’re still at the top as far as I’m concerned. The market will recognise it in due course.
Professional cartelier, Santos, is back again today: Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher has declared there are plenty of producers of gas competing to supply the east coast market, dismissing a “cartel” allegation by Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick, who is negotiating for tougher controls on LNG exports in return for support for the Coalition’s tax cuts.
Spot prices firmed but ignored the fireworks in paper markets. Steel is still going nowhere, really. CISA output for early June jumped to all-time records. The charts: Reuters sums up the irrationality for me today: “While the Brucutu restart will help boost supply, shipping the additional volumes from Brazil to China could take about 45
