Prices of Imported Iron Ore Strengthened Last Week, to Continue to Hover at a High Level

SHANGHAI, Mar 13 - Iron ore prices declined early last week as the overestimated commodity which had risen for four consecutive months triggered supervisions by Chinese authorities. However, the inventory of building steel products continued to be depleted as the apparent demand far exceeded market expectations. Meanwhile, the capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces and the output of pig iron at steel mills continued to rise, driving iron ore prices to rise sharply. Last week, iron ore prices weakened initially before rebounding. Spot prices of PB fines in Shandong rose by 5-10 yuan/mt from a week earlier.

This week, global shipments will stabilise at a high level.

In terms of demand, two blast furnaces in east and north China planned to resume production this week. And affected by the cold air, Hebei's environmentally-driven production restrictions may be lifted, and the demand for iron ore will recover. In addition, the recovery of end-user demand will bolster the prices of building materials, which will drive the prices of iron ore to inflate. Considering the impact of China’s supervision and the Fed's interest rate hike, prices of iron ore will fluctuate at a high level this week.