Ferrous Market
– MySteel researched 64 steel mills import iron ore concentrates at 16.71 million tonnes. Iron ore turnover in 25 days.
– Iron ore traded actively in Corex yesterday, most are port trades. Current market is reluctant to accept higher iron ore price, trade volume become light each time after iron ore rebound since mid-august.
– Mills start to shift furnace input to more pellets and lumps, when concentrates are tight inventory on ports as well as expensive.
– Tangshan expected to execute environment production curb. In addition, some mills have indicated they will start furnace overhaul during August and September. Iron ore demand will temporarily become less supportive in Tangshan area.
– Mysteel rebar production 3.81 million tonnes, down 1.13% w-o-w. Mills inventory 3.81 million tonnes, up 3.59% w-o-w. Circulation inventory 8.78 million tonnes, up 1.3% w-o-w.
Macro and Downstream
– China Ministry of Finance: Jan-Jul state-owned companies revenue 33 trillion yuan, down 3.5% y-o-y, up 1.4% from Jan – Jun.
SGX Iron Ore 62% Futures& Options Open Interest(Aug 20th)
– Futures 86,710,900 tonnes(increase 893,200 tonnes)
– Options 126,501,900 tonnes(increase 1,305,000 tonnes)
Verdict
– Short-term bearish.