Iron ore price up as Western Australia braces for tropical cyclone

MINING.COM Staff Writer | April 11, 2023 | 10:06 am Markets News Australia Iron Ore

Port Hedland is the second largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and the world’s largest bulk-export terminal. (Image courtesy of The Western Australian Land Information Authority)

Iron ore prices rose on Tuesday as a tropical storm headed toward Port Hedland in top supplier Australia.

Benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China rose 2.05% on Tuesday, to $121.07 per tonne.

The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 1.5% higher at 798.50 yuan ($115.97) a tonne.

Port Hedland, the world’s biggest export point for iron ore and is used by BHP Group, Fortescue and billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, will be cleared early on Wednesday as a tropical cyclone approaches, the Pilbara Ports Authority said.

Iron ore’s rebound followed selloffs spurred by disappointment over a slow seasonal pickup in steel demand in China.

“The peak season for steel demand is not strong,” Huatai Futures analysts said in a note.

With weak steel demand for infrastructure projects in China and sluggish activity in the domestic real estate sector, they said “the market pessimism has increased”.

Fears of regulatory intervention in China to curb iron ore prices have also dragged down futures below $120 a tonne since last week.

(With files from Reuters)