Last week, the price of imported iron ore slightly decreased compared to the previous week. From a supply perspective, the quantity of iron ore arriving at port has significantly decreased compared to the previous month. Australia's iron ore shipments decreased slightly month on month, while Brazil's iron ore shipments increased slightly month on month. Port iron ore inventories increased slightly compared to the previous week. The operating rate of blast furnaces has increased month on month.
From the perspective of spot market transactions, on August 25th, according to relevant institutions, the spot price of 62% grade Australian flour port in Qingdao Port was 905 yuan/wet ton, an increase of 3.7% compared to August 18th; The price of 65% grade card powder is 975 yuan/wet ton, an increase of 2.6% compared to August 18th.
Domestic iron ore prices have increased month on month. On August 25th, the factory price of Tangshan 66% grade iron concentrate powder, including tax, was 1077 yuan/ton, an increase of 1.3% from August 18th.
The price of imported iron ore has significantly increased. On August 25th, the price of 62% grade imported iron ore was 116.6 US dollars per ton, an increase of 6.63% compared to August 18th. The average price from August 18th to August 25th was 114.25 US dollars per ton; The price of 65% grade imported iron ore is 127.60 US dollars per ton, an increase of 5.28% compared to August 18th. The average price from August 18th to August 25th was 125.79 US dollars per ton; The price of 58% grade imported iron ore is 99.85 US dollars per ton, an increase of 5.38% from August 18th. The average price from August 18th to August 25th was 98.08 US dollars per ton.
From the global shipping market perspective, on August 25th, the Baltic Dry Bulk Index (BDI) was 1080 points, a decrease of 157 points compared to the previous week.
From the perspective of futures market trading, on August 25th, the main iron ore contract I2401 closed at 823.5 yuan/ton, an increase of 62 yuan/ton.
In terms of supply, according to relevant institutions, from August 14th to August 20th, the arrival volume of iron ore at 47 ports in China was 23.629 million tons, a decrease of 9.23 million tons compared to the previous month; The total amount of iron ore arriving at the six northern ports was 10.438 million tons, a decrease of 6.528 million tons compared to the previous month. From August 14th to August 20th, the total shipment of iron ore from 19 ports in Australia and Brazil was 26.676 million tons, an increase of 885000 tons compared to the previous month. The shipment volume from Australia was 18.393 million tons, an increase of 651000 tons compared to the previous month. Among them, the shipment volume from Australia to China was 15.482 million tons, a decrease of 31000 tons compared to the previous month. The shipment volume in Brazil was 8.283 million tons, an increase of 234000 tons compared to the previous month. The total global iron ore shipment volume was 32.57 million tons, an increase of 2.999 million tons compared to the previous month. Rio Tinto's shipment to China was 4.946 million tons, a decrease of 44000 tons compared to the previous month; BHP Billiton shipped 4.051 million tons to China, a decrease of 1.268 million tons compared to the previous month; The volume of FMG sent to China was 3.661 million tons, a decrease of 731000 tons compared to the previous month. Vale's shipment volume was 5.788 million tons, a decrease of 472000 tons compared to the previous month.
In terms of inventory, on August 25th, the inventory of iron ore ports was 120324800 tons, a decrease of 185100 tons compared to August 18th. Among them, the inventory of Australian mines was 52.9427 million tons, a decrease of 984800 tons compared to the previous month; The inventory of Brazilian mines was 45.5104 million tons, an increase of 1.3218 million tons compared to the previous month. On August 25th, the freight price from Australia to China was 7.5 US dollars per ton, a decrease of 0.5 US dollars per ton compared to the previous month; The freight price from Brazil to China is 19.9 US dollars per ton, a decrease of 0.2 US dollars per ton compared to the previous month.
In terms of demand, from August 14th to August 25th, the CSPI China Steel Composite Price Index was 109.42, an increase of 0.44 points month on month. The social inventory of steel was 11.9699 million tons, a decrease of 120900 tons compared to the previous month. The operating rate of blast furnaces in 247 steel mills surveyed by relevant institutions was 83.36%, a decrease of 0.73 percentage points month on month and a year-on-year increase of 3.22 percentage points.
According to the latest statistics from the China Steel Association, in mid August, key steel enterprises produced a total of 22.1498 million tons of crude steel, 19.9708 million tons of pig iron, and 21.5499 million tons of steel. Among them, the daily output of crude steel is 2.215 million tons, an increase of 2.89% compared to the same period last year, an increase of 10.96% compared to the same period last year, and an increase of 3.61% compared to the same period last year; The daily production of pig iron is 1.9971 million tons, an increase of 1.04% month on month, an increase of 7.45% compared to the same period last year for the same caliber, and an increase of 6.71% compared to the same period last year for the same caliber; The daily production of steel is 2.155 million tons, an increase of 5.44% compared to the same period last year, an increase of 10.74% compared to the same period last year, and an increase of 4.55% compared to the same period last year. Based on this estimation, in mid August, the daily production of crude steel in China was 2.984 million tons, a month on month increase of 1.71%, the daily production of pig iron was 2.5402 million tons, a month on month increase of 1.02%, and the daily production of steel was 3.7667 million tons, a month on month increase of 4.12%.
In mid August, the key statistics showed that the steel inventory of steel enterprises was 16.6302 million tons, an increase of 578500 tons or 3.60% compared to early August; An increase of 961800 tons or 6.14% compared to the same period last month; An increase of 3.5558 million tons or 27.20% compared to the end of last year; A decrease of 699000 tons or 4.03% compared to the same period last year; An increase of 1.696 million tons or 11.36% compared to the same period last year.