MMi Daily Iron Ore Index Report May 19 2023

DCE iron ore futures declined by 1.91% today, the main contract closed at 736. The traders’ willingness to ship is general. The steel mills are not active to purchase. The overall trading sentiment of the market is general. PBF at Shandong port deal 795-797 yuan/mt, decrease 4 -6yuan/mt. PBF at Tangshan port deal 830 yuan/mt, decrease 5 yuan/mt. As of May 19th, the total inventory of 35 ports tracked by SMM was 124.38 million tons. The daily average dredging volume of imported mines decreased by 101000 tons on a weekly basis to 2.762 million tons. This week, ore prices continued to rise, market activity weakened, and the enthusiasm for dredging was average. The current supply-demand contradiction is not fully highlighted, and although the demand for finished products is poor, steel mills do not have the conditions to reduce production, making it difficult for the production of molten iron to decrease. Given good market expectations, it is expected that iron ore prices may continue to experience strong fluctuations next week.

Source: Metals Market Index (MMi)