Latest Update in the China Iron Ore Market

The US dollar index soared on Monday and riskier currencies fell as investors looked for safety while stock markets around the world tumbled on fears of the economic implications of rising COVID-19 cases.

Tangshan government announced another round of stricter production control policy during the weekend, and about 24 steel mills’ sintering machines will be conducted different degrees of production cuts since from Sept 18, 2020, with remove time unknown.

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on September 21, 2020

Xintian Steel Group Zhasan Iron & Steel was required to eliminate all of its capacity to comply with Tianjin’s steel industry policies following the issuance of Work Plan to Fight and Prevent Pollution in 2019 on July 3, 2018. As of September 17, 2020, Zhasan Iron & Steel has shut down completely, resulting in a daily loss of 8,000 mt of pig iron output. The mill mainly produced steel billets and had two 1,260 m³ blast furnaces and two 120 mt converters, with annual steel capacity of 3 million mt.

The dollar was on track for its fifth straight day of declines against the yen, which was at a seven-week high against the greenback on Friday as investors sought Japan’s safe-haven currency due to monetary policy, US election uncertainty and the latest US-China political tensions.

SMM data showed that iron ore stocks across 35 Chinese ports totalled 108.18 million mt as of September 18, up 890,000 mt from a week ago, but 3.76 million mt lower than a year ago.

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on September 18, 2020

SMM data showed that inventories of hot-rolled coils (HRC) and plates across social warehouses and steelmakers, which are used in automobiles and home appliances, stood at 4.03 million mt in the week ended September 18, after a 2.21% increase in the previous week.