Since the beginning of September, the price of iron ore imported into China has continued to improve from the level of $65/tonne cfr Qingdao.Last week the Kallanish KORE 62% Fe index reached the highest point since mid-March this year, confirming that the Chinese market is continuing to perform well.

On 13 September the index touched $69.27/t cfr Qingdao, the highest point since 18 March this year. While the volatility during the last six months has been limited, as the price has moved in the range of $62-69/t, this new record level is a strong positive sign for the global market.

Meanwhile the other main raw material price, scrap, continues to suffer somewhat from the difficulties witnessed in Turkey. Last week the Kallanish index registered a slight drop compared with the latest figures the week before. HMS 1/2 is holding at slightly below $320/t cfr Turkey. The pressure on the local mills to sell their rebar could however force them to push scrap levels further down to try and give a boost to the market.