COLUMN-Iron ore price peak may be near as Australia, Brazil exports recover – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – July 4, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 4 (Reuters) – There are tentative signs that the supply crunch that has driven iron ore prices to their highest in more than five years is starting to ease, although the market is still some way from returning to balance.

Shipments from the two major exporters, Australia and Brazil, show a recovery in June, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Refinitiv.

For the whole of June, Australia exported 76.8 million tonnes, down slightly from May’s 77.9 million. But measured by daily average, June’s exports of 2.56 million tonnes were actually above the 2.51 million achieved in May.

The performance over May and June is also the strongest on a daily average basis since December 2017, further illustrating that Australia’s exports have bounced back from weakness in March and April, caused by disruption from a tropical cyclone.

Meanwhile Brazil’s exports also increased in June, reaching 30.6 million tonnes, up from May’s 28.3 million, according to Refinitiv. June’s shipments were the highest since December’s 35.7 million tonnes, although there is still room for further gains given Brazil’s monthly exports averaged 32.2 million tonnes in 2018.

For the rest of this column: https://www.reuters.com/article/column-russell-ironore-china/column-iron-ore-price-peak-may-be-near-as-australia-brazil-exports-recover-russell-idUSL4N24517B