The iron ore price jumped on
Tuesday after Fortescue raised concerns over a labour shortage in Australia because of covid-19 curbs, which
could hamper output and shipments.
BHP and Rio Tinto have also
warned of disruptions from labour shortages as Australia faces a surge of
Omicron coronavirus variant cases.
According to Fastmarkets MB,
benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $138.39
a tonne during morning trading, up 3.7% compared to Monday’s closing.
Iron ore’s most-traded May
contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 1.4% higher
at 766.50 yuan ($121.14) a tonne, rising for a fifth straight day after
overnight gains erased Monday’s losses.
Mining stocks also slid, with
Fortescue down more than 4% from the previous week, Rio Tinto Group down 0.6%,
and BHP down 1.2%.
Fortescue, the world’s
fourth-biggest iron ore miner, posted a 2% rise in second-quarter shipments,
but flagged pressures from strong demand for labour and resources, as well as
supply chain constraints due to the pandemic.
“The release of Fortescue’s
production report should shed light on whether recent iron ore supply disruptions
have been overcome,” ANZ commodity strategists said in a note.
Mining.com