Iron ore inventories at 33 major Chinese ports reduced to 104.82M tonnes as of 1 December, from 1.09M tonnes in the previous week, according to the report by Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index.
The iron ore at Tianjin Port in China was trading at $69.70/tonne, down 1.1% from the price of $70.60/tonne in the previous week, but still higher than the five-year low of $68/tonne in November, according to international ore observers.
Iron ore shipments to China from Australia's Port Hedland totalled 29M tonnes last month, the lowest since April, according to port authority data.
The People's Bank of China said it was cutting one-year benchmark lending rates by 40 basis points to 5.6%, which was the first such move in recent two years. Due to this policy, metal prices and futures were up. However, analysts said the situation would not improve substantially until more access to financing is granted.
As the steel industry is still troubled by over-capacity and weak demand, steel prices cannot maintain the uptrend, which in the long run will have little drive for China's iron ore price, warned Xinhua's experts.
Source: IHS Meritme 360
- metaljunction »
- Metal News
Metal News & Events
METALJUNCTION PUBLICATIONS
Coal Insights (English) Monthly
Coal Insights is a ready reckoner for anyone associated with coal. This publication is aimed at tracking everything related to coal in India.
India Coal Market Watch(English) Monthly
ICMW is a one-stop source for all news, data and research pertaining to coal demand, consumption, stocks, spot- and long-term prices with respect to the Indian Market.
India Steel Market Watch (English) Monthly
ISMW is a brand new high-end steel market report, covering all aspects of the steel industry in India.
Steel Insights(English) Monthly
Steel Insights delves into various facets of the domestic and global steel industry such as market fundamentals, raw material price trends, price forecasts etc.