Iron ore price bounces back after sharp fall

UPDATE: Iron ore price surges after Vale’s production outlook disappoints

Iron ore prices bounced on Wednesday after analysts at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley offered bullish forecasts for the steelmaking raw material.

According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China (CFR Qingdao) were changing hands for $152.65 a tonne, up nearly 2% from Tuesday’s trade.

Iron ore reached its highest level since September 2011 in mid-January, but has since declined 12% on expectations of normalizing supply from Vale, the world’s top producer, and a cooldown in record-setting demand from China.

Credit Suisse, in a note quoted by Barron’s, lifted its forecast for iron ore during the first half of the year to $170 a tonne, from a lowly $110 before and also adjusted upwards its expectations for the next three years. 

Morgan Stanley this week outlined the “plausible scenario” of $165-plus over the next three years, according to a Bloomberg report.

That’s in contrast to Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, which predicted a fall back to the $100 a tonne level by the end of the year.