SMM Daily Comment On Imported Iron Ore Market (Sep 11)

SHANGHAI, Sep 11(SMM) – The most-traded DCE 2401 iron ore contract closed up 2.41% at 851.5 yuan/mt today. Traders’ enthusiasm for shipments was acceptable, but steel mills’ wait-and-see sentiment increased, with a poor willingness to purchase. Today, the overall market transaction atmosphere was sluggish. The transaction prices of PB fines were 924-928 yuan/mt in Tangshan, up 15-20 yuan/mt compared with last Friday, and the transaction prices of super special fines were 770-778 yuan/mt, 5-10 yuan/mt higher than that of last Friday. According to SMM shipping data, global iron ore shipments totaled 31.62 million mt last week, a decrease of 10.5% WoW, and shipments from Australia and Brazil ports both dropped WoW. Demand may have peaked. Taking into account the low iron ore stocks of steel plants in mid-September, there may be a wave of stocking before National Day holdiay. The high demand for iron ore provided strong support for its prices. However, since tightening regulation may bring downside risks, iron ore prices are expected to fluctuate at highly in the short term.