Iron ore prices rise on higher Chinese demand Steelmakers replenishing inventories ahead of holidays

Print this page Posted on : 09-30-2009 by recycleinme.com

China's steelmakers are buying more iron ore, their main raw material, as the Government implements a

$586-billion stimulus spending.

Bloomberg

Sept. 29

India's export price for iron ore rose as much as 16 per cent in the past week as customers in China replenished inventories ahead of National Day holidays, said an official of the Indian mineral industry association.

Prices rose to $70 a tonne from $60 earlier this month, said Mr R.K. Sharma, Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, in a telephone interview.

Economy forecast

China's steelmakers are buying more iron ore, their main raw material, as the Government implements a $586-billion stimulus spending.

The economy is forecast to expand 8.2 per cent this year, compared with a March estimate of 7 per cent, the Asian Development Bank said last week, easing concern that the nation may slow raw-material imports.

"Demand has gathered momentum," Mr Sharma said. "India is benefiting as mills are stocking up ahead of the holidays."

"India's exports may have fallen 15 per cent in August and 25 per cent in the first two weeks of this month," Mr Siddharth Rungta, President of the Indian mineral body, said. China may buy 20 per cent more than forecast of the material next year, Canberra-based Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics said on September 22.

China may import 637 million tonnes of ore in calendar 2010, compared with its June prediction of 529 mt.

Also, global steel consumption may be 1.3 billion tonnes next year, up 6.5 per cent from this years estimated 1.2 billion tonnes, the bureau said.

Shipping Surge

The Baltic Dry Index, the main measure of shipping costs for commodities, may surge more than 80 per cent by the year-end on increased demand for shipments to China, according China Ocean Shipping Group Co.

The gauge may rebound to 4,000 points as local governments encourage factory output, especially of steel, said Mr Kong Fanhua, a senior researcher at China Ocean Shipping Group.

Iron-ore swaps for settlement this month traded at $79.67 a tonne on Monday, according to SGX AsiaClear over-the-counter prices from Singapore Exchange Ltd. They indicate prices may rise to $81.42 in October.

China will be shut for more than week for the National Day holiday next month.

Source : Business Line