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Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

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April 2013 | Steel Raw Materials


Price support strengthens as mill demand improves: Iron Ore Highlights


Swaps tied to delivery in April traded between $135.80 – 137.55/tonne, an increase of around 3.1% compared with the previous week, while those for the second quarter also rose by 3%, to trade in a range of $130.40 – 132.60/tonne.

Prices were revived following a pick-up in buying activity. Essentially the market experienced greater demand from Chinese steel producers, looking to replenish low inventory levels. Many small-medium sized mills initiated re-stocking purchases around two weeks ago and have since aimed for around 1 – 1.5 months of forward demand. Week-on-week prices for Chinese import fines (Fe 63.5%) picked up by 0.4% to $136.50/tonnes CFR, while those for pellets (65-66% Fe) accelerated upwards by 3.8% to $162.50/tonne CFR. Chinese domestic iron ore prices however, stumbled to lower levels from the previous week. Those for concentrate fell by 0.9% to $166.52/tonne, while pellets edged down by 0.6% to $181.09/tonne (average of a selection of prices).

Swaps tied to delivery in April traded between $135.80...

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