Prices for Australia’s high-grade iron ore fines have increased this week after data on China’s steel output in 2020 was revealed.
Australia’s iron ore fines prices have reached US$172.6 per tonne ($224.66), according to MySteel’s index for the 62 per cent iron ore Australian fine price on January 18.
According to Trading Economics, the 62 per cent iron ore price is $US169.97 per tonne, and the iron ore price is $US171 per tonne as of January 15.
Both commodities saw a weekly increase of 0.27 per cent and 0.89 per cent, respectively.
The price spike follows China’s record crude steel output of more than a billion tonnes in 2020, an increase of 5.2 per cent from 2019.
The rise was in favour to increased industrial demand from stimulus packages in China to bolster its economy against the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
China’s Customs Administration reported that the country had imported 1.17 billion tonnes of iron ore last year, which also exceeded its 1.075 billion-tonne record in 2017.
Trading Economics also reported that the Chinese economy had grown by 6.5 per cent year-on-year in the December 2020 quarter, with the Chinese imported iron ore market growing by 72 per cent in 2020.
Iron ore giants Fortescue Metals Group and BHP have also seen an overnight increase of share prices to $25.01 (0.77 per cent) and $45.50 (0.11 per cent) on the ASX this morning.
Fonte: Australian Mining
