SMM Daily Comment On Imported Iron Ore Market

SHANGHAI, Apr 25 (SMM) – The most-traded DCE 2309 iron ore contract closed down 3.09% at 721.5 yuan/mt yesterday April 24.

In terms of imported iron ore at major domestic ports, some traders were unwilling to sell due to losses, while the wait-and-see sentiment of steel mills has increased. The overall transactions were modest. The transaction prices of PB fines in Shandong were mainly 805-816 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt from last Friday, versus 825 yuan/mt in Tangshan, a drop of 30-35 yuan/mt. According to SMM data, global iron ore shipments increased by 12% WoW to 28.65 million mt, of which Australia's shipments increased by 34.9% to 17.11 million mt. This was mainly driven by recovery of shipments from Australia after the hurricane. Brazil’s shipments decreased by 10.9% WoW to 5.15 million mt. Arrivals at 35 Chinese ports increased 8.92% on a weekly basis to 26.27 million mt last week. There is still room for growth in overseas shipments in the future. Due to the poor demand for rebar, some steel mills in north-west China plan to cut output, which may weigh on iron ore demand. It is expected that iron ore prices will still have room to fall in the short term.