Shipments from the four largest iron ore producers in Western Australia's (WA) Pilbara rebounded in the week to 18 February from a two-year low the previous week. But shipments remained 7pc below average as BHP was recovering from an accident and Roy Hill continued quarterly maintenance.

 

Rio Tinto, BHP, Fortescue and Roy Hill loaded vessels with a combined 16.11mn deadweight tonnes (dwt) of capacity in the latest week, up from 12.76mn dwt in the week to 11 February but 7pc below a one-year rolling average of 17.27mn dwt/week, according to initial shipping data collated by Argus. The dwt is the maximum capacity of a vessel and overestimates actual shipments by around 5pc.

 

Australian resources firm BHP's shipments partially recovered from its 24-hour safety stoppage following a fatal accident at its Port Hedland railyard overnight on 7-8 February, but was still operating 11pc below average. Roy Hill's shipments remained depressed as it continued its regular quarterly maintenance, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue had average weeks.

 

The Pilbara had up to 25mm of rain in parts in the week to 18 February, which was reasonably light for the current wet season. More rain is forecast for the week to 28 February, most strongly along the coast, although there are no cyclones within the Australian tracking region.

 

Roy Hill loaded vessels with 626,000dwt of capacity in the week to 18 February, up from 414,000dwt the previous week, as it began to ramp back up following its regular quarterly maintenance work. BHP loaded 5.11mn dwt, up from 4.61mn dwt in the week to 11 February, but warned that port tie-ins and rail signal upgrades could weigh on shipments in January-June after a record-breaking July-December.

 

Rio Tinto loaded vessels with 6.59mn dwt of capacity in the week to 18 February, up from 4.52mn dwt the previous week and 1pc above its rolling average. Fortescue loaded 3.79mn dwt, up from 3.21mn dwt and 1pc above its average.

 

China was listed as the destination for 83pc of shipments in the latest week, up from 80pc the previous week and above the average of around 82pc.

 

The Argus ICX iron ore was last assessed at $131.75/dry metric tonne (dmt) cfr Qingdao on a 62pc Fe basis on 21 February, up from a recent low of $86.80/dmt on 7 November 2022. argusmedia