The move comes immediately after CMRG expanded restrictions on BHP brands, as announced last Thursday. by prohibiting the use of Newman finesstarting at the end of this week.
As a result, at the moment, Chinese producers are trying to transport as many BHP fines as possible into their assets, expecting the continuation of the struggle between CMRG and BHP over long-term contract prices.
At the moment, the weekly relaxation of restrictions on Jimblebar fines has led to stabilization of spot prices for iron ore and some cooling of market sentiment. For example, the spot price of iron ore with 62 percent Fe is stable at $110/mt CFR, according to SteelOrbis, as of Friday, but this price is still $4/mt above the week and as much as $8.45/mt above the end of February level. Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange today, March 16, slightly decreased by 0.74 percent to 809 yuan/ton ($117.2/mt).
Several steel mills commented to SteelOrbis that they do not expect a big drop in iron ore prices in the near future due to the lack of any significant improvement in supply in the coming months, especially for iron ore with 62
