Seaborne iron ore prices slipped again on Thursday despite steady market activity. Expectations for after New Year remain firm however and PMIs suggest a steady wider economic environment.

The Kallanish index for 62% Fe Australian fines lowered again by $0.45/tonne to $72.08/dry metric ton cfr Qingdao. 170,000 tonnes of PB fines sold in tender at $71.25/t with a laycan in 15-24 February. Meanwhile globalORE saw 80000t of Newman fines trade at $77/t with a laycan in 1-10 February, and COREX saw 90,000t of Newman sell for $74/t with a laycan in 7-16 February. On the Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore settled down CNY 3.5/t at CNY 508/t ($80.69/t), while on the Singapore Exchange, March 62% Fe futures slipped by $0.37/t to $71.61/t.

These orders continue to show how important demand levels after the holiday will be for pricing. While predicting final demand is always risky, available indicators suggest there is little reason to doubt a pick-up in buying activity in the coming weeks.

China’s official manufacturing PMI slipped to 51.3 in January from 51.6 in December, but remained firmly in expansion territory. The drop was led by new export orders, which began to contract for the first time in over a year. Purchasing activity remained firm however, and manufacturers’ raw material inventories were still falling, both positive notes for demand in the coming months. The Caixin manufacturing PMI disagreed however, with its PMI flat at 51.5. It saw new export orders continuing to grow, albeit at a slower pace than December.