Lesser iron ore intakes in preparation for winter

A total of 1.37 million mt of iron ores was traded for the week ended Nov 27, almost halved or down 48.88% week-on-week, as compared to 2.68 million mt recorded last week. The lower transaction volume was due to colder weather in northern China that resulted in lesser construction activities and reduced the intakes for …

DCE breaks the RMB 900/mt mark on higher steel demand

Iron ore futures ended the week on high note after much rally due to robust steel demand and high steel margins. The most-traded iron ore for January 2021 delivery on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange broke the RMB 900/mt mark and rose by 1.52% or RMB 13.50 day-on-day to RMB 902/mt on Friday. The steel rebar …

Capesize rates continue uptrend momentum on better market

Capesize freight rates continued its upward momentum, due to the improving physical market. The Capesize 5 time charter average went up by $328 day-on-day to $12,514 on Thursday, due to better freight rates. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) followed the uptrend and booked a gain of 1.84% or 22 points to 1,219 readings.   More …

Morning Oil Report 27/11/20

Brent crude was down by 10 cents at $47.70 by 0602 GMT, having fallen 1.7% overnight. WTI was down by 86 cents, or 1.9%, at $44.85. U.S. crude prices did not settle on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.   Vaccine news dominated the headlines this week as AstraZeneca could have a vaccine that is …

European Close 26/11/20

BHP today reinforced expectations that the current strength in steel demand will extend into 2021. Earlier in the week it was a roundtable with Morgan Stanley and now UBS (Bloomberg). The reiterating of the message seems to be sinking in, with the December contract trading up to a new high of USD 127.64, whilst the …