What it is
The rock from which iron is extracted. Nearly all of it goes into blast furnaces to make steel, and most of what is traded by sea is shipped to China.
How it is usually quoted
US dollars per dry tonne, for ore of a standard iron content delivered to China; yuan per tonne in China.
This is the customary unit of the reference market. Other markets for the same commodity may use another unit or currency, and an exchange can change a contract’s terms: its own rulebook is the authority.
Where the reference contract trades
Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
Named for orientation only. Naming an exchange or a market here does not mean that GIO4X gives access to it.
What commonly moves it
- Steel production in China, and the property and infrastructure building behind it
- Supply from Australia and Brazil, which weather and mine accidents have interrupted
- Stocks of ore at Chinese ports
- Steel mills’ profit margins and official limits on their output
These are the things people who follow this market usually watch. They explain how the market works; they do not say what the price will do next.
Where it comes from
Australia, chiefly the Pilbara, and Brazil supply most of the seaborne trade. China, India and South Africa are also large miners.
The order of producers changes from year to year, so no quantities or shares are given here.
At GIO4X
Iron ore is not offered as a GIO4X instrument. This page is general education about a market that exists elsewhere, and nothing on it means that GIO4X quotes, trades or gives access to it.
The commodities GIO4X does list are Brent crude, gold, natural gas, palladium, platinum, silver and WTI crude.
Words worth knowing
A reference page. Educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade. It gives no price and no forecast.