Iron ore futures rose on higher steel prices, back by better demand and new round of sintering cut in Tangshan.
The most-traded iron ore for January 2021 delivery on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange rose by 3.61% or RMB 28.50 day-on-day to RMB 817.50 /mt on Monday.
Following the rally, the steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange went up 2.28 % or RMB 86 day-on-day to RMB 3,859/mt.
Higher rebar and billet prices for the week
China’s rebar price is expected to firm up over the Nov 9-13 period, due to better downstream industrial demand that led to drawdown in steel stocks.
So far, the price of HRB400 20mm dia rebar rose by RMB 95/mt week-on-week to RMB 3,955/mt as of November 6, based on Mysteel’s assessment.
Besides rebar, the Tangshan billet prices also continued to rise further by RMB 20 to RMB 3,570 on Nov 9, after a RMB 50 jump over the weekend to reach a 15-month high.
This was due to new round of sintering cut in Tangshan as well as restriction of truck transportation issued on Nov 8 to improve air quality.
China’s iron ore import up for the first ten months
China imported 106.74 million mt for October, down 1.7% month-on-month, but up 14.9% year-on-year, based on data from the General Administration of Customs.
However, the country’s Jan-Oct iron ore imports rose by 11% year-on-year to 975.2 million mt, due to the high contribution from October, which was the fourth consecutive month that import volume broke the 100 million mt mark.
Apparently, there was increased iron ore shipments from Brazil and South Africa for arrival in China for October, at monthly rise of 7% and 15.7% respectively, according to Refinitiv.
Going forward, some trade participants expect the import volume to slow toward year-end, due to approaching winter season that reduced steel demand from construction activities in China.