The China Iron and Steel Association (中国钢铁工业协会) says that iron ore supply is likely to continue to exceed demand in 2018.
A report released by CISA on 9 January said that given recent import volumes and port inventories, the iron ore market continues to see an oversupply relative to demand, with prices continuing to fluctuate and unlikely to stage significant increase.
Si Wei (靳伟) 2017 rotating head of CISA, said that steel prices are rapidly declining in China, yet imported ore prices are increasing swiftly and iron ore port inventories are still on the rise.
Since December 2017 domestic steel prices have posted sizeable declines, with the latest report from “Wode Gangtie” (我的钢铁) indicating that the domestic comprehensive steel spot price index for the first week of trading in 2018 was 155.44, for a decline of 1.88% within a week-long period.
The average price of mainstream specification thread steel in China’s key markets was 4295 yuan per ton, for a decline of 157 yuan compared to the preceding week.
In tandem with the decline in steel prices is an ongoing rise in iron ore prices, with figures from CISA indicating that the China Iron Ore Price Index (CIOPI) reached 255.89 points at the end of December, for an increase of 9.94 points compared to the end of November.
The imported iron ore price index was 259.24 points, for a rise of 9.55 points compared to the end of November.
