Benchmark Dalian iron ore futures fell 1.6% in a largely sluggish trade on Monday, pressured by weak demand for the steelmaking material and rising port inventory across China. The most-actively traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), for September delivery, ended at 885 yuan ($128.67) a tonne. Port stocks of seaborne iron ore across China stood at 118.35 million tonnes, as of July 19, rebounding from a two-and-a-half-year low of 115.25 million tonnes, as of June 28, data tracked by SteelHome consultancy showed. The latest weekly figure ...

China Taiyuan coal transaction price index stood at 138.78 points Monday, down 0.27 percent week on week. The index, released by China Taiyuan Coal Transaction Center (CTCTC) based in Shanxi, a coal-rich province, reflects the coal price levels and changes in the main production areas of China. It is published every Monday. Analysts said that the increasing power generation of hydropower stations in southern China had suppressed the demand for thermal power, resulting in the overall low daily coal consumption of downstream thermal power plants and weak demand for coal ...

During weekdays ending up to July 18, while 589,761 million tons (MT) of commodities worth over $642 million were traded at Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME), the trading volume and value experienced a growth of 46 percent and 37 percent, respectively. According to the report from IME International Affairs and Public Relations Department, last week, on the domestic and export metal and mineral trading floor of IME, 247,558 MT of various products worth close to $284 million were traded. On this trading floor, 233,456 MT of steel, 1,570 MT of copper, ...

China said on Monday it will impose anti-dumping duties on some stainless steel products imported from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. Anti-dumping tariffs of 18.1% to 103.1% will be applied to stainless steel billets and hot-rolled stainless steel plates from companies in the EU and the three Asian nations, effective July 23, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. The decision follows an anti-dumping probe in July last year after a complaint filed by state-owned Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel (000825.SZ). “The investigation agency has made a ...

The boss of a steel mill in the city of Tangshan in Hebei province has been detained after his plant was found to have violated anti-smog restrictions, state media reported on Monday. The Tangyin Steel Plant, owned by the Tangshan Iron and Steel Group, had failed to carry out a mandatory 50% production cut, imposed by the local government, the Futures Daily newspaper reported. The paper said all three of its blast furnaces were still in full operation when the plant was visited by inspectors on July 19, and its ...

Tightening of supplies of iron-ore from global resource majors has triggered a spike in outward shipments of the steelmaking raw material through Indian ports and also put low grade fines back in favour with global steel mills. According to data sourced from the Indian Ports Association, outward bound iron-ore traffic, including pellets, was up 15.33% during April to June, compared with the corresponding period in the previous financial year, at 12.188-million tons. More significantly, aggregating traders based in the eastern state of Odisha point out that tightening global supplies of ...

In Australian rules football, the third quarter of a game is sometimes described as the ‘Premiership quarter’, a crucial period in which dominance is established or cemented en route to a victory. In the mining business, the fourth quarter of the financial year is often critical in determining whether a company generates enough profits to pay shareholders juicy dividends. Respected UBS analyst Glyn Lawcock describes it as the ‘championship quarter’. And for resources heavyweights such as BHP and Rio Tinto, it lived up to the billing this year. Quarterly reports ...

Chicago corn futures slid 1.6% on Monday, falling for two out three sessions, as forecasts of cooler weather across much of the U.S. Midwest eased fears about potential yield losses. Wheat fell almost 1%, weighed down by plentiful world supplies, while soybeans gave up 0.7%. The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade was down 1.6% at $4.28-3/4 a bushel by 0338 GMT, having gained 1.4% in the previous session. Wheat was down 0.9% at $4.98 a bushel, having closed up 1.8% on Friday. Soybeans lost 0.7% to ...

Russia’s wheat harvest so far shows yields have dipped below last year’s level, raising questions about current crop estimates. Yields fell 3% from a year earlier as the top wheat shipper processed wheat from 8.2 million hectares, Agriculture Ministry data show. The acreage is about 30% of total plantings, according to SovEcon. The decline, which comes after hot and dry weather in June and May, contrasts with estimates that show Russia’s crop increasing from a year earlier. SovEcon said on Thursday it’s reconsidering its outlook. “Generally, yields have been worse ...

The European Union is set for a larger wheat harvest this summer as a heatwave in late June which wilted some crops had a less severe impact than initially feared, traders and industry officials said on Friday. “The heatwave caused a late crop loss of a couple of million tonnes but overall we are still facing a big crop and big export supplies in the leading producers France, Germany, Britain and Poland,” one German trader said. EU wheat was devastated by drought in summer 2018 but weather this year was ...

China’s steel prices continued to decline in June with more fluctuations expected, data from an industry association showed. The steel price index issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) stood at 109.45 points by the end of June, down 1.49 percent from the previous month and marking a 5.48-percent slip compared with the same period last year. Seven of the eight categories of steel products monitored by the association saw prices decline, with the only exception being iron whose price gained 0.5 percent. The price drop, withstanding a ...

The success of price hikes, by European steel producers, is muted. Mill profit margins are unsustainably low, as a result of rising input expenditure. Iron ore costs continue to soar, and those for coking coal remain at an elevated level. Moreover, European steelmakers are battling with increased outlay associated with CO2 emissions. The imperative for steel producers to lift selling values is becoming more acute. Nonetheless, sentiment amongst steel buyers continues to be negative. Heightened uncertainty, which has been witnessed for the majority of the past eighteen months, persists. Brexit, ...

Vale SA’s second-quarter production due next week may offer clues on whether the world’s largest iron ore producer could provide some relief to a market reeling from shortages that sent prices to a five-year high. Analysts, on average, expect the Rio de Janeiro-based miner to report that output of the steelmaking ingredient rebounded to 74.6 million metric tons, from 72.9 million in the three months ended March, according to five estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s still below the 96.8 million tons Vale produced in the second quarter last year. A ...

Surging oil and gas prices, skyrocketing insurance costs and attacks on energy and banking infrastructure are likely to follow quickly if Iran’s seizing of two U.K.-linked tankers spirals into outright war. A lengthy conflict in the Persian Gulf could help tip the U.S. and global economies into recession and even accelerate the worldwide move away from fossil fuels. Here’s what some top oil, commodity and geopolitical analysts see as the most likely outcomes. Will the Strait of Hormuz be shut down? In a limited confrontation the flow of oil and ...

Iron ore, the “red dirt” that is the key ingredient for the manufacture of steel, is attracting significant interest again, both internationally and within China. Its price has just seen one of its sharpest ever rallies, almost doubling in value over seven months to hit $126.35/mt on July 3, responding to a confluence of supply and demand-side factors. While the price seems to have subsided in recent days, the intensity of the jump has surprised many, who say that the market has effectively disconnected from its fundamentals. A deeper look ...