CUF - A Bright Future For Shareholders, page-422

Unexpectedly demand is back!?



IRON ORE:
Prices for iron ore cargoes with a 62% iron ore content rebounded to $106 per tonne after touching a 16-month low of $100 on April 4th, as markets increased their bets of higher demand from Chinese steel producers. Industry groups noted that the large volumes of stimulus from Beijing supported margins for blast furnaces and mills, improving the outlook for steel output, and hence, increasing expectations of iron ore input buying. Still, concerns over the sustainability of the traction in demand held prices 22% lower year-to-date. A slow start to the Chinese construction season drove blast furnaces and smelters to pare input buying of iron ore at the end of Q3, as pig iron ore output in the country dropped by nearly 7% so far this year. This was magnified by strong supply amid a fresh surge in iron ore exports out of Australia, supporting the view that a batch of mine maintenance programs have reached their conclusion following the end of the first quarter.