Spot iron ore prices rose to fresh record highs and offers for high-grade Indian ore hit $200 per tonne on Tuesday, prompting Asian steelmakers to increase product prices.
Iron ore prices have risen more than 12 percent this year, after soaring over 40 percent in 2010, due to tight Indian supplies and firm demand from top importer China.
Prices of coking coal, another steelmaking ingredient, have also surged after massive flooding disrupted shipments and production in Australia.
To cover rising costs, Nippon Steel Corp , the world''s fourth-biggest steelmaker, raised H-beam steel prices for the third month in a row in February.
Baoshan Iron and Steel , China''s biggest listed steelmaker, increased product prices for March bookings, also the third month it was raising rates. Wuhan Iron & Steel Co Ltd , China''s third-largest producer, on Monday announced a similar price hike.
Rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as high as 5,196 yuan per tonne on Tuesday morning, near the record 5,230 yuan hit on Friday.
Iron ore price indexes, which global miners like Vale and Rio Tinto use in setting quarterly contract rates, rose to record highs on Monday.
Platts'' 62 percent iron ore index IODBZ00-PLT rose $1.50 to $192.50 a tonne, cost and freight delivered to China, and Steel Index 62 percent benchmark .IO62-CNI=SI edged up 60 cents to $189.50.
Metal Bulletin''s 62 percent gauge .IO62-CNO=MB gained $1.16 to $189.28.
NERVOUSNESS
Indian ore with 63.5 percent iron content was being offered at $197-$199 a tonne, including freight cost to China, on Tuesday, although bigger miners were quoting prices above $200, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
"We''ve seen one trading company bought one 63.5 percent cargo from India at $200 per tonne," said an iron ore trader in Singapore.
"There''s nervousness in the market as prices continue to go up but I think with the Indian shortages, the market will remain firm."
A large number of Chinese steel mills have returned to the market to buy material after the Lunar New Year break, said an iron ore trader in eastern China.
"We are expecting prices to hit $220 per tonne in the near future, but it might struggle to achieve that," he added.
India''s Supreme Court allowed traders to ship up to 400,000 tonnes of ore that had been cleared in Karnataka for export before a ban was imposed in July, but moved a hearing on the state ban to April 4.Karnataka accounts for about a quarter of India''s annual iron ore exports of around 100 million tonnes. India is the world''s No. 3 supplier of the steelmaking material.
The forward swaps market rose on Monday, although prices remained at discount to spot, pointing to caution among swap players on the near-term direction for prices.
The Singapore Exchange-cleared February contract gained 29 cents to $188.54 a tonne, March was up 13 cents at $181.75 and April added 31 cents to $172.06