Prices for iron ore cargoes with a 63.5% iron content for delivery into Tianjin rose to $214 a tonne, their highest since May 18th, amid concerns over supply to top steel producer China. Iron ore inventory at Chinese ports dropped last week to the lowest since early February, while shipment arrivals were lower than the prior-week and year-ago volumes, according to metals data provider SMM. Earlier in the week, prices had been under pressure due to weaker-than-expected China's trade data and narrowing profit margins for the country’s steelmakers. The world's second-largest economy imported 89.8 million tonnes of iron ore last month, lower than the 98.6 million tonnes it bought in April and 102.1 million tonnes in March. In May, iron ore prices rallied to a record high of $229, buoyed by strong demand from the steel industry, but have since fallen in the aftermath of Chinese measures to contain the rapid surge of prices for industrial commodities.
Historically, Iron Ore reached an all time high of 229.50 in May of 2021. Iron Ore - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on June of 2021.
Iron Ore is expected to trade at 204.56 USD/MT by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 178.67 in 12 months time.