Iron ore weakness to continue into 2025 and beyond, says Fitch Solutions’ BMI
Looking beyond 2024-2025, BMI analysts maintained their view that iron ore prices will likely follow a multi-year downtrend.
The iron ore price rebounded on Thursday after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to take more effective measures to achieve the country’s economic and social development goals.
Xi, speaking at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum via video link on Wednesday, called for greater coordination on economic policy to avoid a fragile recovery from being disrupted.
China would step up macro-policy adjustments and take more effective measures to achieve its annual economic and social development goals while minimizing the impact of the covid-19 epidemic as much as possible, Xi said, without giving details.
According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $116.30 a tonne, up almost 7% from Wednesday’s closing.
“The lack of growth in economic activity has seen steel demand suffer. This has led to a build-up in inventories, which is finally leading to a slowdown in steel production,” said ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.
The steel-making ingredient should recover to $140 a tonne in three months as it’s “highly exposed” to more Chinese easing, Citigroup Inc. analysts said in a note.
However, there could be more near-term weakness as investors digest news around steel output cuts and weak margins, they said.
(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)
