Iron ore futures advanced on Wednesday as investors gauged over short-term iron ore supply.
On one hand, Australian miners have been going flat out and the country may be shipping in record volumes. According to initial tally compiled by Bloomberg, shipments from Australia were up by 3.2 million tonnes in May year-on-year to 79.7 million tonnes, the highest on record.
Their Brazilian counterpart has seen flows stunted as operations have been disrupted by the ongoing widespread of the coronavirus in Brazil. Year-to-date volumes from Brazilian miner Vale SA are 13% lower than 2019.
However, the Brazilian miner reaffirmed their previous annual production guidance remain intact following the restart of its Itabira mine operations after overturning a court ruling. According to analysts at Goldman, 2020 is likely to play out the same way as 2019; a big first half deficit that would be followed by a second half surplus.
Futures in Singapore were firmer in London morning, with Jul trading up from 97.5 to 98.45. Sep was also seen trading from 92.5 to 93.1. Meanwhile, Q3 also traded and 95.45 and 95.55 while Q4 traded at 88.95 right at the start of the session but since gone higher to around 89.3 by noon. (FIS)