Market Commentary
Iron ore futures were weaker on Friday amid concerns over China’s demand outlook and rising inflation. The short-term demand of the steelmaking ingredient has hit a snag as China is facing its seasonal lull in demand as construction and manufacturing activities slow in the summer. Recent data also suggest that China’s economic growth might have peaked, and flow of credit is tightening. Investors are also closely watching China’s next steps to rein in the steel sector, which looks set to topple last year’s record of more than 1 billion tonnes. According to Mysteel, China will need to cut output by more than 50 million tonnes in the second half. On the supply side, supply tightness of iron ore appears to have eased as Mysteel recorded higher iron ore port inventories. Iron ore stockpiles across 45 major ports in China grew 589,500 metric tonnes this week to 122.35 million metric tonnes.
Futures in Singapore slipped below $204 in London. Early trading saw Aug trading up from 204.9 to 205.15 before slipping down as the morning went, trading down to as low as 203.5. Jul also traded from 213.0 to 213.5 before easing off to trade 212.9. Cal22 also traded 146.0. Jul/Aug traded between 8.3 and 8.5 while Cal 22/23 eased off to 39.7.
Click below link to open today’s Singapore Iron Ore Report
https://fisapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Iron-Ore-Report-02072021-Eng-Chn.pdf
For more information please contact
FIS Iron Ore Desk
ferrous@freightinvestor.com
London Number +44 (0) 207 090 1120
Singapore: +65 6535 5189
Shanghai: +86 21 6335 4002