Iron ore futures in China edged higher in early trade on Wednesday, hovering around a nearly one-month high hit in the previous session, despite miner Fortescue Metals Group maintaining its shipments’ estimate for fiscal 2020.
Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 0.2 percent at 640 yuan ($91.38) a ton, trading in a narrow range after a cumulative 10 percent gain over the past six sessions on concerns over tightening supplies.
Fortescue expects full-year iron ore shipments to be at the upper end of the 170 million ton-175 million ton range despite supply disruptions in Western Australia due to infrastructure damage caused by tropical cyclone Damien.
Despite the coronavirus epidemic in China that has hampered global business, the Australian miner said its iron ore shipments were proceeding on schedule.
Citing cyclone damage, Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto on Monday lowered its 2020 shipment forecast for the steelmaking raw material from Australia’s Pilbara region.
Last week, miner Vale SA scaled down its first-quarter iron ore production outlook following heavy rain in Brazil that hampered its operations.
Spot prices of China-bound iron ore hit one-month highs, with the benchmark 62 percent grade settling at $91.50 a ton on Tuesday, based on data from SteelHome consultancy. – Reuters
