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26 January 2010
Iron ore prices slipped this week as Beijing tightened short-term lending controls. We have noted before that Chinese iron ore and finished steel prices move in tandem. And, with the recent declines on the physical and derivatives markets, we have seen iron ore prices slip as well.
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26 January 2010
The outlook for the Chinese steel market is still positive. Spreads between one-month and six-month contract prices for rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are relatively large, suggesting that the market foresees a tighter balance between supply and demand in the near future
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26 January 2010
Coking coal contract negotiations in the Asian region are likely to linger as buyers are wary of the quarterly pricing mechanism, especially that spot prices are likely to rise through the year.
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26 January 2010
There are expectations through the market that prices will continue to trend upwards through February but we expect to see a slow down. Weak demand from the end user market will exert downward pressure on scrap prices, but this will also be met with positive pressure from the tight supply of material we are seeing throughout Europe.
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19 January 2010
We understand that supply of import material is proving elusive to many Chinese steel mills. This has led to some offers of material at a significant premium to market prices
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19 January 2010
Ukrainian producers are unlikely to be able to push their prices up much further, especially if demand in China weakens, despite increasing raw materials costs, as their output levels seem to be continuing apace.
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19 January 2010
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19 January 2010
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19 January 2010
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19 January 2010
MBR believes that Chinese traders’ resistance to higher prices, and the fact that mills seem to have some stocks of iron ore to fall back on, seems likely to keep iron ore prices stable until the start of February.
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19 January 2010
Iron ore markets have been relatively quiet over the last week or so. Miners have generally refused to drop their spot prices
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19 January 2010
Demand from the stainless steel sector remains firm with enquiries for ferro-chrome being made. Stainless steel mills have also lifted their prices on the back of improving demand, which we believe will encourage upward movement in ferro-chrome.
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19 January 2010
This may be a strong period for zinc prices as LME stocks start to be drawn down more readily.