iron ore hits new high of $191 a tonne!!

Brilliant news for the company and just in time for our 2nd shipment of Iron Ore scheduled to depart at the end of this week...


Iron ore indices hit record on China stockpile.
Published 3:32 PM, 14 Feb 2011

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Reuters

SINGAPORE - Index-based spot iron ore prices edged up to fresh record highs and looked set to sustain their momentum on Monday as top consumer China continues to build steel product stockpiles in anticipation of a recovery in demand.

Tight seaborne supplies of iron ore should also keep prices firm. India's Supreme Court on Friday delayed a hearing on a 6-1/2-month ban on iron ore exports from its Karnataka state to April 4 from mid-February.

Chinese steel prices have continued to rise after China's Lunar New Year break ended on February 8, with Shanghai rebar futures up modestly on Monday after hitting a series of record highs last week.

Chinese domestic steel prices have followed the gains in futures as traders built stocks, although end-user demand remained scarce.

"With end-user demand, particularly from construction, at its lowest over the New Year period, traders typically take the opportunity to build inventory at this time of year," Macquarie said in a note.

"As such, we do believe that steel prices can continue to move up in the near term, but a strong return of end-user participation will be required to ensure the next leg of price rises."

That should translate to more demand for iron ore, the main component in making steel, traders said.

On Friday, Platts' 62 per cent iron ore index rose 75 cents to a record $US191 a tonne, cost and freight delivered to China.

The Steel Index 62 per cent iron ore benchmark gained 90 cents to $US188.90 and Metal Bulletin's 62 per cent gauge jumped $US2.22 to $US188.12, also both all-time highs.