Prices for iron ore fines were relatively steady on Wednesday January 24 amid mixed signals from China's steel and futures markets, but premiums for lumps continued to rise.
Key drivers China's steel futures continued to outperform those for iron ore, with the benchmark rebar and hot rolled coil contracts ending around 1% higher than the previous day's settlement price, while that for iron ore closed over 1% lower.Spot rebar prices in the country stayed largely unchanged during the day while those for HRC increased 10 yuan ($1.60) per tonne.Trading activity for iron ore improved at Chinese ports - though prices were rangebound - with the steel market appearing to be regaining its strength, sources said.While fixed-priced transactions for seaborne shipments of Pilbara Blend fines and Newman fines...