Iron ore, scrap remain steady on constrained supply

Seaborne iron ore and scrap markets were steadier on Thursday as markets took a breather to look for a clearer direction. Restricted electricity supply to some iron ore processors helped to support prices.

The Kallanish KORE 62% Fe index dropped $0.22/t to $209.76/dry metric tonne cfr Qingdao. The Kallanish KORE 65% Fe index fell $0.08/t to $240.97/dmt cfr, and the KORE 58% Fe index slipped $0.12/t to $181.96/dmt cfr.

On the Dalian Commodity Exchange September iron ore settled up CNY 16/t at CNY 1,170/t ($180.59/t), while on the Singapore Exchange July 62% Fe futures settled down $2.66/t at $206.74/t. The same contract for 65% Fe and 58% Fe futures settled down $2.63/t at $239.52/t, and down $2.34/t at $178.63/t respectively.

Chinese scrap prices inched a little lower on Thursday but are beginning to steady. 6mm+heavy scrap delivered to mills in the Yangtze River Delta dropped CNY 11/t to CNY 3,716/t. In Tangshan, billet prices were unchanged at CNY 4,820/t.

The fallout from the mining accident in Shanxi on 12 June continues to play out. The local Bureau of Industry and Information Technology has requested power be reduced to local iron ore processing and beneficiation plants, to ensure they are not using ore from unsafe mines. Domestic iron ore concentrate supply is likely to continue to be constrained in the short term.

Tomas Gutierrez UK