MMi Daily Iron Ore Index Report December 23 2019

Relatively calm physical iron ore port stock trading was contrasted by volatile trading on DCE iron ore futures today. The many heavy pollution alerts seemed to have limited impact to the current production schedules at the steel mills, though some of them delayed their iron ore procurement. However, as traders remain optimistic that mills will require more stock soon and therefore were unwilling to really compromise on their quotes. Nonetheless, considering the potential future mill demand, iron ore port stock prices may recover. Downstream demand for steel products continues to be rather bearish at the moment, squeezing mill profit margins and potentially providing a ceiling for any near-term price rally.

Source: Metals Market Index (MMi)