OREANDA-NEWS. November 06, 2012. The stocks of five major steel grades fell by 274,000 tons to 12.43 million tons, hitting the lowest level since 2010.
 
The stockpiles held by steelmakers remain at above 10 million tons, implying that the strain of oversupply has not yet eased.

In the middle of October, China steel output rose by 4.3 percent from early that month to 2.00 million tons. A poll by a domestic website showed that only 7 percent of steelmakers were still making a loss as of October 26. The supply pressure will likely be mounting in the future.

As of October 24, Indian 63.5 percent fines were quoted at USD 120 - USD 121 a ton and quotations of Australian PB fines rose to USD 118 a ton, up USD 13 and 34.1 percent respectively from late September.

The China Iron Ore Price Index stood at 390.74 points on October 26, up 1.94 percent from the previous week and soaring by nearly 10 percent from the second week of September.

The warming up of the steel market has pushed up coke prices to a two-month high. As of October 24, the ex-works price of second-grade metallurgical coke in Shanxi climbed to 1,200 yuan to 1,250 yuan a ton.

As of October 26, iron ore stocks at 30 ports amounted to 90.82 million tons, up 810,000 tons from the previous week, a recovery for the first time in four weeks. 

The main driver to the growth of steel prices hinges on whether or not downstream demand could make substantial progress in the long run.