Steel prices taking iron ore to record levels

摘要

At the time of writing, seaborne 62% Fe iron ore fines index (IODEX) prices appeared to be heading towards $200/mt CFR for the first time. Prices jumped by $7.25/dmt over the April 16 week to $185.10/dmt CFR North China on April 23, on the back of strengthening demand for medium-grade fines from Chinese mills. On April 26, the Platts IODEX closed at $191.45, very close to the historic high of $193/dmt on Feb. 15, 2011. As China continues to announce more steel production scale-backs (though Platts Analytics does not expect these to impact output which is still extremely strong) steel prices rise further, taking iron ore along with them.