A total of 2,020,000 mt of iron ores was traded for the week ended Jan 8, getting off for a good start of the new year in 2021.
The first working week of 2021 also started with positive PMIs indicators in China, which set the pace for a bullish market, though there were some concerns over the rising coronavirus cases in the steel-making hub province of Hebei.
During the week, PBF accounted the largest market share at 30%, then it was followed by Newman fines at 14% and finally Carajas fines at 9% of the market share.
Preference for medium and high-grade fines to reduce coke usage
Due to the high coke prices, Chinese mills preferred to purchase medium-to-high grade products for their higher Fe content, which reduced the requirement for coke usage in the blast furnace mix.
Newman fines were popular among buyers for the medium-grade ore range, which accounted one of the most widely transacted iron ore volume for the week ended in Jan 8.
High grade ores like Carajas fines were popular among end-users as well, especially among the mills using low grade -high grade ores combination in the blast furnace mix.
High blast furnace utilization amid rising coronavirus cases
China’s blast furnace capacity utilization rose for the third consecutive week, despite some short-term output restriction in Tangshan.
According to Mysteel, the blast furnace capacity utilization rate rose slightly by 0.21% on-week to 92.08% during the Dec 25-31 period among the 247 steel mills being surveyed.
However, some trade participants were concerned about the rising coronavirus cases in Hebei province, which might affect steel production.
According to Argus media, two Shijiazhuang-based steel mills were likely to suspend portside procurement of iron ores, namely the 14 million mt per year Jingye Steel and 3 million mt per year Aosen Steel.
In the meantime, some construction activities had had been suspended in the provincial capital city of Shijiazhuang, while truck drivers needed to be tested negative for Covid 19 before entering Caofeidian port to pick up iron ore.
