Ferrous Market
– MySteel 45 ports iron ore inventories at 127.07 million tonnes, up 1.875 million tonnes w-o-w. Daily evacuation 2.85 million tonnes, down 431,600 tonnes w-o-w. Australia iron ore 59.97 million tonnes, up 1.48 million tonnes w-o-w. Brazil iron ore 44.43 million tonnes, up 845,000 million tonnes w-o-w. 115 ships at ports, down 54.
– Tangshan 10 sample steel mills pig iron before tax 3161 yuan/tonne, billet cost 4006 yuan/tonne, down 14 yuan/tonne w-o-w. Gross profit 74 yuan/tonne, up 244 yuan/tonne compared to previous week.
– Mysteel researched daily pig iron production 2.45 million tonnes, up 33,200 tonnes.
– Although billet and steels increase massively during the first day after Chinese New Year, however the actual trades were very light. Sellers were following futures sentiment and test offers on physical market.
Macro
– U.S. expected Johnson & Johnson vaccines production can be used on market from April to May of this year. Biden government estimated will contribute 4 billion U.S. dollars on the global supply of vaccines.
– Most of China areas are becoming warm during this week. Eastern areas expected up 10 degree in average in next few days.
SGX Iron Ore 62% Futures& Options Open Interest(Feb 18th)
– Futures 80,677,500 tonnes(increase 1,407,400 tonnes)
– Options 51,424,700 tonnes(increase 640,000 tonnes)
Verdict
– Short-term neutral.