Published by:Alice Li<>
19 May 2025 @ 12:43 UTC

Seaborne iron ore prices edged downward on Monday May 19 amid sluggish trading, industry sources told Fastmarkets. Key drivers The most-traded September iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) fluctuated over the day and closed at 722.50 yuan ($100) per tonne on Monday, down by 0.8% from the previous closing price of 728 yuan per tonne.
By 6:34pm, the most-traded June contract on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) was $99.40 per tonne, down by $0.66 per tonne compared with the previous settlement price of $100.06 per tonne.
Last week’s easing of China-US trade tensions and China’s reduction of the bank reserve requirement ratio from May 15 have partially supported market sentiment in the iron ore and steel industry, yet the overall demand weakness in the downstream steel market continued to damp market confidence.
Steel orders were not good over the weekend, a Qingdao-based market said. This led to the decline in the iron ore and steel futures market this morning.
Some market participants turned more cautious on Monday due to a lack of sustainable support from the demand side, despite the benchmark 62% Fe iron ore price rising above $100 per tonne in the previous week.
China’s crude steel production was 86.02 million tonnes in April, unchanged from a year earlier but down by 7.3% from March. Output totaled 345.35 million tonnes in the first four months of 2025, up by 0.4% year on year, according to the latest data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Steel consumption from June might weaken due to weather conditions that are not good for outdoor construction activity, a Zhejiang-based trader said. This might damp demand for raw materials.
But a Singapore-based trader said that the resilience in exports of Chinese finished steel products, due to their competitive prices, might continue in the short term, supporting iron ore and steel demand.
In the seaborne iron ore market, trading activity declined on Monday amid cautious market sentiment.
Some traders have sold or bought second-hand iron ore cargoes in previous weeks, a Hebei-based mill said. Demand might ease before a clearer price driver or direction comes.
A Beijing-based mill added that some steel mills only procured on an as-needed basis rather than in a hurry to build iron ore stocks, but speculative traders were cautious in taking cargoes due to concerns about demand weakness in the coming months.
Trading in imported pellet feed and concentrates also remained sluggish, with some buying interest in cargoes with a decent discount, a Shanghai-based trader told Fastmarkets.
We heard that one mill in Northern China had already restocked the imported pellet feed it needs, while other buyers didn’t have the necessary procurement demand, the same source added.
Speculative buying interest for Australia iron ore lump was resilient on Monday due to a lack of reselling margins for imported direct-charge pellets, market sources said.
But bids for combo cargoes of Pilbara Blend fines and lumps dropped from a small premium to zero premium over a 62% Fe iron ore fines index on Monday, after active trades in the previous week, a second Shanghai-based trader said. The trading premium for an early-June loading combo cargo is about $0.40-0.50 per tonne, and $0.10-0.20 per tonne for late June loading.
A cargo of 290,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Brazilian fines was offered at the June average of a 65% Fe iron ore fines index, with a discount of $1.60 per tonne, on an open trading platform, but no firm bids were received.
Some sources said that it has been difficult to sell a large vessel of iron ore in the seaborne market recently even with a wider discount, because most traders were cautious about speculating for high-grade ore.
Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao:$100.07 per tonne, down by $0.91 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao:$99.21 per tonne, down by $0.92 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:$87.61 per tonne, down by $0.88 per tonne 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao:$110.85 per tonne, down by $1.56 per tonne 62.5% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium, cfr Qingdao:$0.1550 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu), unchanged 62% Fe fines, fot Qingdao:786 yuan per wet metric tonne (implied 62% Fe China Port Price: $100.50 per dry tonne), up by 10 yuan per wmt 67.5% Fe pellet feed premium, cfr Qingdao:$0.80 per tonne, unchanged 67.5% Fe pellet feed, cfr Qingdao:$116.28 per tonne, down by $0.68 per tonne 65% Fe concentrate premium, cfr Qingdao:$(5.50) per tonne, unchanged 65% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao:$105.10 per tonne, down by $0.78 per tonne.
Trades/offers/bids heard in the market BHP, globalORE, 80,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Mining Area C fines, traded at $97.20 per tonne CFR Qingdao, laycan June 16-25.
Rio Tinto, tender, 170,000 tonnes of 60.8% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, traded at $96.51 per tonne CFR Qingdao (61% Fe base), laycan July 3-12.
GlobalORE, 290,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Carajas fines, offered at the June average of Fastmarkets’ 65% Fe index with a discount of $1.60 per tonne, bill of lading dated April 29.
BHP, tender, 80,000 tonnes of 62.2% Fe Newman Blend Lumps, traded at the June average of Fastmarkets’ 62% Fe index and another 62% Fe index on an FOB Australia basis, plus a lump premium of $0.1551 per dry metric tonne unit, laycan June 16-25.
Market participants’ indications Fastmarkets’ index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, CFR Qingdao Pilbara Blend fines: $99.50-100.47 per tonne Brazilian Blend fines: $98.01-99.61 per tonne Newman fines: $96.87-97.77 per tonne Jimblebar fines: $92.50-93.11 per tonne.
Fastmarkets’ index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines CFR Qingdao Iron Ore Carajas: $109.60-112.00 per tonne.
Fastmarkets’ index for iron ore 67.5% Fe pellet feed premium, CFR Qingdao Minas Rio BFPF Pellet Feed: $(3.00)-(5.00) per tonne Atacama CNN Pellet Feed: $(2.00)-(3.00) per tonne Shougang Hierro Peru 70: $0.25-0.60 per tonne Kaunis Pellet Feed: $0.00-1.00 per tonne Metinvest 68% Pellet Feed: $(3.00)-(4.00) per tonne.
Fastmarkets’ index for iron ore 65% Fe concentrate premium, CFR Qingdao Citic Pacific Concentrate: $(5.50) per tonne Karara Concentrate: $(6.89) per tonne Metinvest SevGok Concentrate: $(5.00)-(5.50) per tonne.
Port prices Pilbara Blend fines were traded at 762-775 yuan per wmt in Shandong province, and the ports of Tangshan on Monday, compared with 762-780 yuan per wmt last Friday.
The latest range was equivalent to about $97-99 per tonne in the seaborne market.
Dalian Commodity Exchange The most-traded September iron ore futures contract on the exchange closed at 722.50 yuan ($100) per tonne on Monday, down by 5.50 yuan from the previous closing price.