Iron ore prices advanced on Thursday January 2 despite a downturn in rebar and further production restrictions in China's steel hub of Tangshan.
Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.05 per tonne, up $1.92 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.14 per tonne, up $1.92 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.35 per tonne, up $1.81 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingdao: $79.75 per tonne, up $0.66 per tonne.65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao: $104.70 per tonne, up $1 per tonne.62% Fe fines, fot Qingdao: 690 yuan per wet metric tonne (implied 62% Fe China Port Price: $90.84 per dry tonne), up 12 yuan per wet metric tonne.Key driversChina's central bank announced on Wednesday it would lower the bank reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points from January 6 to support the economy and the benchmark steel and iron ore futures contracts, as well as the stock market indices, all opened higher on Thursday. Rebar futures trended lower during the...