China's iron ore port stocks fell sharply last week, iron ore prices soared to $90 today

Release time：Apr 22, 2019 From：admin

According to the latest data today, China's iron ore port inventory decreased by 3.9 million tons to 140 million tons last week, a decrease of 2.7%. The iron ore stocks originating from Australia decreased by 5.5% to the lowest level since 2017, which was 67.85 million tons. The largest decline since records began in 2013, causing today's iron ore prices to rise to $90/dmt.

Iron ore prices soared from $75/dmt in January to a high of over $90/dmt due to a series of disturbances this year.

In January of this year, Valudinho's tailings collapsed in Vale, which caused the company to shut down its annual production capacity of 90 million tons. Brazil's iron ore exports plummeted by a quarter in March, while the Brazilian government also strengthened its regulation of Vale.

In addition to the dam-breaking of the Vale, the suspension of production in several mines in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the tropical cyclone in Veronica, Australia, have led to tight supply, all of which contribute to the rise in copper prices.

At the end of March, the Veronica tropical cyclone landed in Australia, causing Port Hedland, the world's largest iron ore export port, to close for more than 92.5 hours.

Mining giant Rio Tinto said its iron ore production in Western Australia could be reduced by about 14 million tons this year. BHP Billiton also said its iron ore production in Western Australia is expected to decrease by 6-8 million tons

At the same time, the iron ore exported by Heidelland to China in March this year also decreased by 8%.

Soochow Futures Co. said that last week Vale restarted the Brucutu project, which somewhat eased the tight supply situation and caused some price repression. However, the approval of infrastructure projects and the recovery of real estate investment have all contributed to the formation of iron ore prices. At the same time, it is necessary to continue to pay attention to the relocation of 13 steel companies launched in Tangshan City today to see if it will have a certain impact on the market.