Fundamentals Buoyed DCE Iron Ore Prices in February, Price Forecast for March

SHANGHAI, Mar 8 (SMM) – The market was relatively optimistic in early February.

The BHP railway accident was expected to affect iron ore shipments in the short term. Under this circumstances, iron ore prices rose.

Besides, the supporting real estate and infrastructure-related policies in China and the higher-than-expected US CPI data boosted market confidence for iron ore.

However, frequent supervisions on iron ore prices by Chinese authorities, coupled with market expectations of more Australian coal supply, dragged down the valuation of iron ore. The accumulation of port inventories, and the limitation on iron ore contract positions have also capped the gains of iron ore prices.

At the end of February, the market confidence improved with the nearing NPC and CPPCC, pushing up DCE iron ore prices.

From a fundamental point of view, in February, the weak supply and strong demand supported ore prices.

Yet, the price did not rise beyond expectations amid slow gains in finished products prices.

On the demand side, the operating rate and the capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces rose marginally, according to SMM statistics. As some steel mills delayed production resumption, the output of pig iron increased relatively slowly.

In addition, affected by important political meetings, Hebei restricted the production of sintering machines at the end of February.

The increase in pig iron output will be limited in March as the NPC and CPPCC as well as market news affected the price trend of iron ore. DCE iron ore will fluctuate in a wide range in the near term.