Ferrous Market
– MySteel 45 ports iron ore inventories at 122.67 million tonnes, down 1.49 million tonnes w-o-w. Daily evacuation 3.02 million tonnes, up 221,600 tonnes w-o-w. Australia iron ore 58.598 million tonnes, down 567,000 tonnes w-o-w. Brazil iron ore 40.435 million tonnes, down 349,000 tonnes w-o-w. 159 ships at ports, up 1.
– Mysteel researched 247 blast furnace operation rate at 85.29%, up 0.78% w-o-w. Utilisation rate 91.77%, down 0.31% w-o-w. Daily pig iron production 2.44 million tonnes, down 8,200 tonnes.
– Tangshan 33 blast furnace out of 126 furnaces maintenance, weekly impact 540,700 tonnes of steel production.
– The new spread of Covid cases in northern China as well as cold weather caused many downstream projects suspended. Many end-users of steel indicated that they were not stocking steels and would keep inventory low.
SGX Iron Ore 62% Futures& Options Open Interest(Jan 7th)
– Futures 65,574,400 tonnes(increase 392,100 tonnes)
– Options 40,544,200 tonnes(increase 1,950,000 tonnes)
Verdict
– Short-term neutral