1. Iron Ore
1.1
Market in Brief
Prices of iron ore edged down
early this week. The in-plant replenishment operated at a normal level.
In order to improve cash flows, traders were active in iron ore sales.
Meanwhile, the futures price was
substantially lower than the spot price in recent days. With the lofty
demand for spot products, however, it is unlikely to observe the further
drop in the spot price.
SteelHome considers that iron
ore prices may rise in the short run for narrowing the basis.
T1: China Iron Ore Price by Product
|
SteelHome Index (USD/t) |
Seaborne Price (USD/t) |
Qingdao Port (yuan/t) |
Tangshan (yuan/t) |
62%-Fe
Imported Iron Ore |
61.5%-Fe PB fines |
65%-Fe
IOCJ |
61.5%-Fe PB fines |
56.5%-Fe Super Special fines |
66%-Fe
Concentrate fines |
October 13 |
123.3 |
122 |
1005 |
905 |
830 |
1020 |
October 10 |
124.57 |
123.5 |
1005 |
905 |
830 |
1020 |
VAR |
-1.27 |
-1.5 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Source: SteelHome
1.2 Highlight
(a)
China imported 108.547 million tonnes of iron ore in September, up 9.192
million tonnes or up 9.3 percent from the one in the same month last
year, official customs data showed on Tuesday. Daily import increased by
11.8 percent month-on-month.
Average import price was 110.8 dollars per tonne, up by 7.4 dollars per
tonne from a month earlier.
In the
first nine months of 2020, China imported 868.462 million tonnes of iron
ore, up 84.401 million tonnes or up 10.8 percent year-on-year.
Average import price during the nine months was 95.1 dollars per tonne,
down by 1.2 dollars per tonne from the same period last year.
T2: China Iron Ore Imports
|
unit |
Sept. 2020 |
Aug. 2020 |
Sept. 2019 |
YoY |
MoM |
Jan-Sept, 2020 |
Jan-Sept, 2019 |
VAR |
VAR% |
VAR |
VAR% |
VAR |
Daily Avg. Change% |
Import |
10,000 tonnes |
10854.7 |
10036 |
9935.5 |
919.2 |
9.3 |
818.7 |
11.8 |
86846.2 |
78406.1 |
8440.1 |
10.8 |
Unit price |
USD/t |
110.8 |
103.4 |
103.3 |
7.5 |
7.3 |
7.4 |
|
95.1 |
96.3 |
-1.2 |
-1.2 |
(b)
Australian iron ore shipments dropped by 37,000 tonnes week-on-week to
17.07 million tonnes, and Brazil's shipments down by 798,000 tonnes to
6.88 million tonnes. The total shipments of the two countries were 23.95
million tonnes, down 835,000 tonnes week-on-week.
1.3
Trading Tips
Traders are suggested to sell iron ore products at normal levels. Mills
are suggested to keep the in-plant inventory as their normal consumption
levels.
2. Semis
2.1
Market in Brief
China’s semis price edged up
early this week. In Tangshan, sales of direct shipped semis were tepid,
and the overall transactions slowed down on the spot market.
According to SteelHome survey,
in Fengrun, Tangshan, independent mills have gradually resumed
production.
SteelHome considers that semis
price may observe rangebound movements in the short run.
T3: Prices of Q235 in Main China’s Market
in
yuan/t |
Tangshan |
Jiangyin Port |
Zibo |
Linfen |
Handan |
Shenyang |
October 13 |
3420 |
3490 |
3470 |
3450 |
3610 |
3420 |
October 10 |
3390 |
3480 |
3440 |
3420 |
3600 |
3390 |
VAR |
30 |
10 |
30 |
30 |
10 |
30 |
2.2 Trading Tips
Steel rolling mill plants are
suggested to purchase semis at normal consumption levels amid current
tepid steel sales and rising semis prices. |