iron ore, page-10

From MySteel.net

Iron ore stockpiles at China's major ports (Mar 24-28)
Mar 31, 2008 10:53:57
Till the close of last week (Mar 28), iron ore stockpiles at China 's 23 major ports rose to 60.3mln tons, out of which Indian spot ore increases slightly to 17.5mln tons. Most ports have seen thin trade during the week coupled with less offtake volume. The spot ore trade appears to be sluggish during the week and sliding freight rates have weighed on export offer price downward. Traders are faced with rising ore stockpiles while the steelmakers opt for staying away from the market at the moment.

Meanwhile, the central bank has raised up the reserve ratio up to 15%, worsening the credit squeeze for those small-and-medium buyers. Market analysts predict that spot ore imports market is set to weaken in days to come.

Currently, import price for Fe63.5% fines from India firms at US$150-155/ton fob and US$198-203/ton cif respectively, while the offtake price for benchmark Fe 63.5% Indian ore fine prevails at RMB 1530-1550/ton (FOV), while spot prices for grades of Fe 58% and Fe 62.5% weakens to RMB 1130-1150/ton (FOV) and RMB 1480/ton (FOV) respectively.

By contrary, the transaction price for Fe64.5% Brazilian ore lump reaches RMB 1640/ton(FOV), and Fe 66% Brazilian ore concentrate at RMB 1600/ton(FOV).

Note: FOV price refers to Free on Vehicle price, and in most cases, Free on Truck price. It is the price that Chinese domestic buyers pay to Chinese iron ore importers for offtake purchases at Chinese ports.

Global dry-bulk shipping rates start to pick up last week. In a week-on-week comparison, freight rates from Brazil to China rebound to $76.15 per tonne on Mar 28, while freight rates from W. Australia to China rise to $29.37 per tonne.