December 02, 2008

Iron ore concentrate price dips in North China

It is reported that domestic ore concentrate price continues to slip in North China especially in Northeast.

Currently, on wet basis Fe 66% ore concentrate goes at CNY 1000 per tonne to CNY 1030 per tonne in Jianping, dry basis Fe 65% ore concentrate at CNY 1300 per tonne to CNY 1340 per tonne in Benxi. Meanwhile, the price decline has moderated in Tangshan, Hebei where dry basis Fe 65% ore concentrate is offered at CNY 1560 per tonne to CNY 1590 per tonne.

Steelmakers in Tangshan and Northeast China have been pressing down the purchase price these days due to tight liquidity. Moreover, spiking coke price has also occupied considerable amount of capital earmarked for raw material procurement. As a result, they are demanding lower ore concentrate price on back of sufficient ore stock. It seems that the buyers are taking the upper hand at the moment as miners and traders are eager to cash out profits.

Market analysts predict that domestic ore concentrate price weakness would be short lived since domestic ore concentrate price is more competitive than the steep ore imports. Therefore, they are optimistic that the ore concentrate price would rebound in the near future.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)