Seaborne iron ore prices were largely steady on Thursday as many overseas traders were absent for the Christmas holidays. Uncertainties remain over the holidays, however, in particular around the spread of Covid-19.

The Kallanish KORE 62% Fe index slipped $0.09/t to $122.75/dry metric tonne cfr Qingdao. The Kallanish KORE 65% Fe index dipped $0.30/t to $142.49/dmt cfr, and the KORE 58% Fe index increased $2.67/t to $94.40/dmt cfr. 170,000 tonnes of PB fines sold at $123/t with a laycan in 25 January-3 February.

On the Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore settled down CNY 10.5/t at CNY 686.5/t ($107.71/t), while on the Singapore Exchange January 62% Fe futures settled down $1.24/t at $124.48/t. The same contract for 65% Fe and 58% Fe futures settled down $0.81/t at $145.96/t, and up $7/t at $92.95/t respectively.

Scrap and billet prices were also in a holding pattern. 6mm+ heavy scrap delivered to mills in the Yangtze River Delta was unchanged on Thursday at CNY 3,609/t. Tangshan billet was also steady at CNY 4,390/t.

While many overseas markets are on holiday, however, China will be facing a number of challenges. The real estate and credit crisis is being joined by further outbreaks of Covid. The city of Xian began one of the most widespread and severe lockdowns since Wuhan in 2020 on Wednesday night. Over 200 Covid cases have been confirmed, though there has been no official news about which variant is spreading. The 13 million population of the city in themselves are a major market, but there are also concerns that the stubborn outbreak could be repeated in other cities.