Commodities

Here are the iron ore charts for April 10, 2014: Another bad day for prices on Friday.

The Conversation has an interesting piece on Chinese investment in the Pilbara this morning.

So now we know why iron ore miners surged yesterday as prices tanked.

Here are the iron ore charts for May 8, 2014: Trouble.

Something of a slow dawn is going on at Morgan Stanley today: While considering potential metal and bulk commodity price direction the rest of the year, we found it useful to look through the lens of the increasingly divergent coal markets.

Here are the iron ore charts for May 7, 2014: As I write this I’m skipping through a field of daisies on a  bright Spring day.

It seems a bit harsh to pick on iron ore equities today given the overall market is taking a pasting but here are the updates anyway.

Here are the iron ore charts for May 6, 2014: Physical is becalmed with the BDI capesize component up shy of 2%.

The one body of sell side research that has the iron ore market right just now is Goldman Sachs.

Here are the iron ore charts for 5th May, 2014: Not much to say for either paper or physical markets on sideways movement.

HSBC’s Paul Bloxham today offers a lesson in how to get on with life during a commodities bust: Iron ore exports continue to ramp up strongly, despite China’s recent slower growth.

From Reuters: China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel) (600019.SS) and Australia’s Aurizon Holdings Ltd (AZJ.AX) launched a $1 billion bid for an Australian resources firm in a move that could break the stranglehold of giant miners Rio Tinto (RIO.AX)(RIO.L) and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) on the country’s iron ore exports.

Here are the iron ore charts for May 1, 2014: Chinese markets were still closed.

From Mac Bank: OAO Mechel is the latest miner to cut met coal production in North America, having announced on Tuesday that it is halting its Bluestone operations in West Virginia.

China was closed yesterday for the May Day holiday so there’s no price update.

The iron ore majors are breaking down technically.

More from Vale overnight via the SMH blog: Vale’s iron ore selling prices during the quarter were “materially below our and consensus estimates”, says UBS analyst Andreas Bokkenheuser.

Here are the iron ore charts for April 30, 2014: The Baltic Dry capesize was down 1% and rebar futures eased to their lows.

Done like a dinner.

Dalian futures are down 1% today but rebar futures are up a touch.

Here are the iron ore charts for April 29, 2014: Paper markets managed weak bounces only with rebar futures joining in.

Dalian and rebar futures have both stabilised in China this afternoon but nothing can save equities today.