Spot iron ore vessel bookings to China by the world’s two biggest exporters, Australia and Brazil, remained steady in the first half of September, after sliding to a 9-month low in August.
Vessel bookings from Australia’s main ports, the biggest iron ore seller to China, stood at 18 in the first 15 days of September, little changed from 15 in the same period a month ago, according to data specialist AXSMarine.
Ship fixtures from Brazil to China stood at 4, versus 5 in the first 15 days of August.
Despite record steel production by the world’s biggest steel making country, prospects are rising for slower growth in iron ore imports by China, as the country has ample stockpiles and idled domestic mines began to reopen following a months-long rally in ore prices to this year’s high in early August.
China’s iron ore imports slipped 15 percent last month from a record in July to their lowest in six months, while steel production jumped 22 percent to a new peak and domestic iron ore output rose 19 percent.
Iron ore stocks held at major Chinese ports rose 130,000 tonnes last week from the previous week to 73.17 million tonnes, as some mills remain reluctant to build up inventory, betting prices may fall further.
Prices of spot iron ore delivered in China including cost and freight were quoted at $82-84 a tonne this week, little changed from last week, but down nearly 30 percent from a peak of $115 in early August.
No comments:
Post a Comment