Seaborne iron ore prices held their ground despite the news of sintering restrictions in Tangshan. Port Hedland meanwhile has been shipping record volumes of iron ore but this too has not dampened the market as demand remains firm.

The Kallanish index for 62% Fe Australian fines was up $0.06/tonne to $62.79/dry metric ton cfr Qingdao. Two 170,000-tonne cargos of PB fines traded at fixed prices, both with a laycan in 2-11 August. One sold at $61.80/t and one at $61.81/t. 90,000t of Mac fines also sold on COREX at a floating price. On the Dalian Commodity Exchange September iron ore settled up CNY 4/t at CNY 461/t ($69.64/t), while on the Singapore Exchange 62% Fe futures settled up $0.09/t at $63.19/t.

In Tangshan, billet prices jumped CNY 50/t to CNY 3,680/t. News of ironmaking restrictions in the city was driving up prices there much faster than elsewhere in China.

The Pilbara Ports Authority meanwhile said Tuesday that Port Hedland shipped a record high 47.3 million tonnes in June, bringing the total over the fist half of 2018 to 256.5mt (see related article). The increase was driven by exports to China, which were up 7% month-on-month to 39.69mt in June. Chinese steel output remains high however, and buying continues. As long as that remains the case iron ore prices are set to remain in their range.