Market Verdict on Iron Ore：
· Iron ore neutral.
Iron Ore Key Indicators:
· Platts 62%: $185.10 (+1.50) MTD $176.22. Iron ore port trades and seaborne trades both increased significantly before China’ Labor day started from this Saturday. However major contributor was the weakened U.S. dollar supported all dollar-linked asset, iron ore was the most sensitive one.
SGX Iron Ore 62% Futures& Options Open Interest (Apr 23rd)
· Futures 89,922,500 tonnes(Increase 1,794,900 tonnes)
· Options 65,897,300 tonnes(Increase 2,135,000 tonnes)
Steel Key Indicators
· Steelbank construction steels inventory 7.5979 million tonnes, down 8.22% w-o-w. HRC inventories 2.2563 million tonnes, down 3.97% w-o-w.
· U.S. mid-western HRC traded at $1545/tonne, refreshed historical high.
· Tangshan started a control on ozone pollution. April 25 – 27th, steel sintering mills, cement mills and foundry kilns are require to suspend production.
· China Custom: China March import 732,500 tonnes of billets, up 203,900 tonnes y-o-y. Jan-March import 2.34 million tonnes of billets, up 613,300 tonnes y-o-y.
Coal Key Indicators
· Shanxi physical coke market increase by 100 yuan/tonne as the second round of price increase. Physical traders were positive on the after-market. However DCE coke futures have increased 500 yuan/tonne from the previous low.
· The tight relation between China and Australia has become one stimulator to push thermal coal and coking coal price.