Once the huge iron ore market is completely financialized like other commodities, it will affect the global steel industry chain. This momentum seems irresistible at present.
On January 29, India, the world’s third-largest supplier of iron ore, officially launched iron ore**. The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) and the Indian Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) jointly launched an ore mine (IOF) that uses the ore index TSI as the settlement price. As the world’s first iron ore grade, the birth of IOF means further financialization and short-term pricing of the iron ore market.
Accelerated financialization of the iron ore market It is reported that iron ore ** launched by India will be delivered on a monthly basis, with 62% of standard iron ore as the delivery target and 100 tons of iron ore as the trading unit, with an initial margin of 8% %. The basic unit of the ** delivery made by MCX is 20,000 dry tons, but ICEX's delivery unit is 5,000 dry tons. The settlement price used by ICEX is the TSI index, which tracks the 62% CIF price of Tianjin iron ore.
Chandec, CEO of ICEX, said that this product will not only “provide benchmarks for global iron ore trade†but will also “be an important reference for spot and forward marketsâ€.
India is the third largest iron ore supplier in the world. In 2010, the country’s iron ore production was 257 million tons, of which 115 million tons were exported. The Indian mine accounts for about 15%-20% of the total amount of imported ore in China, which occupies a very important position in China's spot market.
However, in recent years, with the strong growth of India's economy, the country's ore demand is also rising. The Indian government has continuously raised the threshold for export of ore, and has banned some ports from exporting ore, suspended multiple iron ore mining, raised the export tariff of ore by 20%, and increased the cost of iron ore transportation. Under the stimulation of multiple factors, the spot iron ore ore price continued to rise from the end of 2010. At present, the price of 63.5% grade Indian fines has exceeded US$190/ton, which is in the highest historical range.
Under strong bullish expectations, India’s huge iron ore export market undoubtedly gave the country the impetus to promote ore financialization. The introduction of ore ** will give more room for speculation in financial capital, or it will further boost the price of ore.
The impact of the global iron ore pricing system not only has an impact on prices, but the introduction of ore** has also been seen as a sign of further short-term iron ore pricing. The rapid changes in the iron ore pricing model and market environment will greatly test the adaptability of iron and steel enterprises in various countries.
At present, commodities such as petroleum, copper, aluminum, lead and zinc have all been financialized. The daily price fluctuations of the ** market have important reference and guiding significance for spot trading. Manufacturers also generally conduct risk hedging and hedging by participating in transactions.
The introduction of iron ore now means that the world’s largest bulk raw material is also rapidly financialized. More importantly, it is also drawing closer attention to the full-scale pricing of iron ore. . The iron ore quarterly pricing system currently being implemented is likely to undergo a period of transition and eventually shift to a more short-term pricing model until it is fully spot and indexed.
In response, the industry has begun to take action. A typical example is that some ore index agencies such as TSI have recently launched a service that provides monthly average price data for ore. This can be seen as a response to the big mines that are pushing monthly pricing.
In fact, before the launch of iron ore**, there were already five global commodity exchanges: the Singapore Exchange SGX, the Intercontinental Exchange ICE, the London Dry Liquidation Clearing House LCH, the Norwegian ** Options Clearing House NOS, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME. Iron ore swaps were launched, and most of them used the TSI index as the settlement price. In January this year, as the price of iron ore rose wildly, the trading volume of iron ore swaps also soared.
The SGX's swap transaction volume is more than half of the global total. According to data provided by SGX Vice President SGX Chen Shiliang to the Shanghai Securities Journal, the swap volume in January reached 2.205 million tons, which is very close to the highest point of 2.218 million tons in April last year. The total amount of global iron ore swap transactions reached a high of 2.6 million tons, a total of 470 million US dollars. This transaction volume is relatively small compared to the current global iron ore transaction volume of more than 1.6 billion tons/year, but in terms of iron ore financial market, it can be called “unprecedented activityâ€.
Chinese steel companies are in urgent need of financial talents However, before 2010, iron ore has been adopting a "one-on-one" long-term agreement pricing model. For our country's steel companies, we rarely understood and participated in iron ore financial market transactions. However, the arrival of the iron ore financialization era puts high demands on Chinese steel mills' financial knowledge and talent reserves.
“At present, most Chinese steel mills are not ready. According to our understanding, only a Baosteel company now has a good financial power reserve.†An outside mine veteran told this reporter.
In an interview with the Shanghai Securities News, senior officials of the China Steel Association (CISA) bluntly stated that the actual internationalization of Chinese steel mills is still a long way. “In the past, we have not been able to keep pace with the requirements of internationalization in the rapid development of the past. If ore financialization has indeed become the direction, then the steel mills should actively study. We must understand how to use modern methods to avoid various industrial risks, which is the trend World and adapt to the objective needs of the market.â€
At the same time, the Steel Association official said that at present, he is most concerned that China should establish its own ore system. "This system must take into account the interests of both sides, and it will only take care of which side will not work. We hope that the mine will not become short-sighted because of what appears to be a hot market. Any system without user acceptance and participation will not last long."
He believes that while accelerating the development of inner mines and the construction of foreign mines, China must further realize the rationalization and ordering of the ore market. “All mines, steel mills and traders should participate in the construction of this market.†In addition, the construction of the scrap steel system should also be strengthened, which will enable China’s related industries to benefit in the future.
On January 29, India, the world’s third-largest supplier of iron ore, officially launched iron ore**. The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) and the Indian Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) jointly launched an ore mine (IOF) that uses the ore index TSI as the settlement price. As the world’s first iron ore grade, the birth of IOF means further financialization and short-term pricing of the iron ore market.
Accelerated financialization of the iron ore market It is reported that iron ore ** launched by India will be delivered on a monthly basis, with 62% of standard iron ore as the delivery target and 100 tons of iron ore as the trading unit, with an initial margin of 8% %. The basic unit of the ** delivery made by MCX is 20,000 dry tons, but ICEX's delivery unit is 5,000 dry tons. The settlement price used by ICEX is the TSI index, which tracks the 62% CIF price of Tianjin iron ore.
Chandec, CEO of ICEX, said that this product will not only “provide benchmarks for global iron ore trade†but will also “be an important reference for spot and forward marketsâ€.
India is the third largest iron ore supplier in the world. In 2010, the country’s iron ore production was 257 million tons, of which 115 million tons were exported. The Indian mine accounts for about 15%-20% of the total amount of imported ore in China, which occupies a very important position in China's spot market.
However, in recent years, with the strong growth of India's economy, the country's ore demand is also rising. The Indian government has continuously raised the threshold for export of ore, and has banned some ports from exporting ore, suspended multiple iron ore mining, raised the export tariff of ore by 20%, and increased the cost of iron ore transportation. Under the stimulation of multiple factors, the spot iron ore ore price continued to rise from the end of 2010. At present, the price of 63.5% grade Indian fines has exceeded US$190/ton, which is in the highest historical range.
Under strong bullish expectations, India’s huge iron ore export market undoubtedly gave the country the impetus to promote ore financialization. The introduction of ore ** will give more room for speculation in financial capital, or it will further boost the price of ore.
The impact of the global iron ore pricing system not only has an impact on prices, but the introduction of ore** has also been seen as a sign of further short-term iron ore pricing. The rapid changes in the iron ore pricing model and market environment will greatly test the adaptability of iron and steel enterprises in various countries.
At present, commodities such as petroleum, copper, aluminum, lead and zinc have all been financialized. The daily price fluctuations of the ** market have important reference and guiding significance for spot trading. Manufacturers also generally conduct risk hedging and hedging by participating in transactions.
The introduction of iron ore now means that the world’s largest bulk raw material is also rapidly financialized. More importantly, it is also drawing closer attention to the full-scale pricing of iron ore. . The iron ore quarterly pricing system currently being implemented is likely to undergo a period of transition and eventually shift to a more short-term pricing model until it is fully spot and indexed.
In response, the industry has begun to take action. A typical example is that some ore index agencies such as TSI have recently launched a service that provides monthly average price data for ore. This can be seen as a response to the big mines that are pushing monthly pricing.
In fact, before the launch of iron ore**, there were already five global commodity exchanges: the Singapore Exchange SGX, the Intercontinental Exchange ICE, the London Dry Liquidation Clearing House LCH, the Norwegian ** Options Clearing House NOS, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME. Iron ore swaps were launched, and most of them used the TSI index as the settlement price. In January this year, as the price of iron ore rose wildly, the trading volume of iron ore swaps also soared.
The SGX's swap transaction volume is more than half of the global total. According to data provided by SGX Vice President SGX Chen Shiliang to the Shanghai Securities Journal, the swap volume in January reached 2.205 million tons, which is very close to the highest point of 2.218 million tons in April last year. The total amount of global iron ore swap transactions reached a high of 2.6 million tons, a total of 470 million US dollars. This transaction volume is relatively small compared to the current global iron ore transaction volume of more than 1.6 billion tons/year, but in terms of iron ore financial market, it can be called “unprecedented activityâ€.
Chinese steel companies are in urgent need of financial talents However, before 2010, iron ore has been adopting a "one-on-one" long-term agreement pricing model. For our country's steel companies, we rarely understood and participated in iron ore financial market transactions. However, the arrival of the iron ore financialization era puts high demands on Chinese steel mills' financial knowledge and talent reserves.
“At present, most Chinese steel mills are not ready. According to our understanding, only a Baosteel company now has a good financial power reserve.†An outside mine veteran told this reporter.
In an interview with the Shanghai Securities News, senior officials of the China Steel Association (CISA) bluntly stated that the actual internationalization of Chinese steel mills is still a long way. “In the past, we have not been able to keep pace with the requirements of internationalization in the rapid development of the past. If ore financialization has indeed become the direction, then the steel mills should actively study. We must understand how to use modern methods to avoid various industrial risks, which is the trend World and adapt to the objective needs of the market.â€
At the same time, the Steel Association official said that at present, he is most concerned that China should establish its own ore system. "This system must take into account the interests of both sides, and it will only take care of which side will not work. We hope that the mine will not become short-sighted because of what appears to be a hot market. Any system without user acceptance and participation will not last long."
He believes that while accelerating the development of inner mines and the construction of foreign mines, China must further realize the rationalization and ordering of the ore market. “All mines, steel mills and traders should participate in the construction of this market.†In addition, the construction of the scrap steel system should also be strengthened, which will enable China’s related industries to benefit in the future.