SMM4, January 1: iron ore fell sharply today, on the one hand, due to the global new crown confirmed cases of more than 860000 cases, the economic downward pressure increased; on the other hand, the influx of scrap steel resources to divert steelmaking demand, and the real estate market is poor, Shanghai easy House released today, "China Baicheng Residential Land transaction report" shows that from January to March, the transaction area of residential land in 100 cities across the country was 92.4 million square meters, down 23.2 percent from the same period last year.
The rebound in the operating rate of short-process steel mills weakens ore demand. According to SMM, as of March 31, the operating rate of EAF steel plants reached 48.64%, up 28.34% from mid-March and 41.06% from the beginning of March. Under the expectation of an increase in supply, steel prices are likely to remain weak. On the mining side, Vale of Brazil, after examining the global iron ore market for all producers, said that due to blockade-related production cuts in Canada, Malaysia, India, Peru and Africa, transoceanic market production could be disrupted by about 18 million tons, with SMM understanding that the actual impact is limited. At present, the operation of the four major mines has been almost undisturbed by the epidemic, and the production index of each of them has not changed in 2020, and most of them are affected by smaller foreign mines. Although the recent demand for thread steel and other support iron ore is relatively strong, but recently Europe, Japan and South Korea and other regions of steel mills to reduce production and stop production, the major miners to complete this year's planned shipments or increase domestic shipments.
The arrival of iron ore in Hong Kong has dropped slightly, and the steel mills just need to replenish their warehouses. According to SMM tracking data, the incoming cargo volume in the previous period is expected to be 11 million tons, a decrease of 750000 tons over the same period last year, an increase of 1.02 million tons over the same period last year. During the same period, the number of outbound ports in Australia increased significantly over the same period last year, mainly due to the impact of hurricanes on railways and the obstruction of shipments in the same period last year. From the current port situation, Aoba iron ore shipment as a whole is still in a steady increasing trend, the late arrival of iron ore or gradually rebounded.
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