Global iron ore prices rose on Tuesday, ending the recent fall that culminated in Monday’s 8.4% plunge.
The price of 62% ore rose 1.5% or 94 cents to $US65.19 a tonne from Monday’s $US64.25.
That was the lowest the price has been in five months.
The prices for other types such as 58% fines and 65% ore also rose as the selling pressure of the past week or so abated.
Monday’s fall in the price of 62% ore was the largest daily drop since April 2017.
Up to Monday the price of 62% ore had fallen 15.6% in five trading session.
Share prices of major iron ore groups hardly reacted yesterday to Monday’s plunge.
BHP shares rose 1.4% to $30.87 after it revealed the discovery of what could be a huge new copper deposit in South Australia to rival that of Olympic Dam.
Rio Tinto shares eased a touch – losing 0.6% to $73.60 and shares in Fortescue Metals were unchanged at $3.85.
The prices fall is linked to the combination of the usual weaker demand for steel in the Chinese winter, and the controls on production in northern cities to try and lower pollution levels. That has pushed steel prices lower.
But a slowing in demand from construction and the car industry (four months of falling sales has been reported) has added to the downward pressure on steel mills’ profit margins.
At the same time, extra stimulus spending by the central government has yet to pick up significantly even though higher spending plans on roads, railways and water projects has been a key focus of stimulus measures announced recent months as Beijing looks to offset the impact of the Trump trade war.
Thermal coal import prices have fallen under $US100 a tonne in recent weeks as the Chinese government restricts imports to protect the local industry and jobs.
