from a reuters article @ Iron Ore-Spot prices fall, mill appetites weak | Reuters
Fri Jun 29, 2012 4:00am EDT
* Weak industrial profits underline slower growth
* Steel prices down 6 pct in April-June
* Australian, Brazlian cargo prices fall by $1/T
(Updates rebar price)
By Ruby Lian and Fayen Wong
SHANGHAI, June 29 (Reuters) - Spot prices for iron ore
cargoes to China fell on Friday as buying interest from steel
mills remained tepid, with data showing a fall in industrial
profits for a second straight month underlining slower domestic
growth.
Steel demand in China, the world's largest producer and
consumer, has been waning since early April as Europe's debt
crisis and a property tightening campaign have slowed economic
growth, dragging down steel prices by 6 percent over April to
June.
China is expected to grow at the slowest pace in more than
three years this quarter and industrial profits fell for a
second straight month in May on slackening domestic and external
demand.
"Traders sealed deals (to buy iron ore) but have found it
difficult to sell on market as mills are not buying," said a
Shenzhen-based iron ore trader.
Prices for Australian and Brazilian cargoes to China fell by
$1 per tonne on Friday, according to Beijing-based industry
consultancy Umetal.
Benchmark iron ore with 62 percent iron content
.IO62-CNI=SI dropped half a dollar to $134.90 per tonne on
Thursday, the lowest since June 14, data from the Steel Index
showed. It fell more than 8 percent over the April-June period.
Still, there are hopes Beijing will do more to boost the
world's second-largest economy, which could lift steel and iron
ore demand later in the year.
"Some traders are quite positive on the steel market in the
second half of this year, and the market should not be as bad as
the first half," the trader added.
However, any gains in iron ore and steel prices could be
curbed by a supply glut in China, which has about 900 million
tonnes of annual steel capacity but may only be able to absorb
700 million tonnes this year.
Steel output in China has jumped to more than 2 million
tonnes on a daily basis since April, but has started to fall
since late May. Daily steel output was estimated at 1.971
million tonnes from June 11 to 20, down 1.4 percent from the
preceding 10 days, industry data showed.
Bookmarks