All parties work together to help smooth operation of international business

In order to consolidate and enhance the achievements of opening to the outside world, over the past year, large business firms, futures companies, depository banks and other institutions have made a lot of explorations in linking up with the international market, enhancing international business and broadening horizons.

In January 2018, DCE set up its first overseas office in Singapore. After that, DCE was approved to be a Hong Kong Automated Transaction Service (ATS) provider and Legal Entity Identifier (LEI).

"These initiatives are conducive to customer development and business advocacy in Hong Kong, Singapore and other parts of the world. At present, many of the overseas industrial customers and financial institutions that have opened accounts are involved in the international trading of iron ore futures through Hong Kong and Singapore branch offices. DCE related person in charge said.

As a link and bridge between domestic and foreign business, domestic and foreign futures companies have also made great efforts in developing and serving overseas customers. "Large overseas enterprises are more cautious about participating in futures trading and need a certain development cycle. To this end, our overseas team has held many road shows to introduce the situation of China's futures market and the rules of iron ore contracts, channels of participation, delivery rules and so on. We have specialists to meet potential customers and to study and provide service programs. In the past year, the company has held five overseas market promotion activities. More and more overseas customers understand the rules of iron ore futures trading. Some customers have successfully participated in the transaction.

For the internationalization of iron ore futures, 10 foreign deposit banks such as Bank of Communications have also contributed a lot. Xu Junting, deputy general manager of Financial Institutions Department of Bank of Communications, said that in the past year, the bank has provided overseas traders with services such as account management, transfer of funds and settlement of foreign exchange, and supported customers to inquire into the incoming and outgoing funds from customers to futures companies and futures companies to exchanges. "On the basis of guaranteeing compliance, we optimize business processes in actual business, improve transfer efficiency and customer handling convenience, and ensure the timeliness of futures trading."

With the joint efforts of all parties, the internationalization of iron ore futures has been effectively operated from opening accounts, transferring funds to delivery, etc. "Iron ore contracts use US dollars and RMB as deposits. Since internationalization, the settlement and sale of foreign exchange between US dollar pledge and settlement has been running smoothly." One Securities Futures Agency Business Headquarters related business leaders said.

In delivery, in order to solve the problem that foreign customers can not deal with when they receive the dutiable warehouse receipts, DCE introduces bonded delivery business before internationalization. The bonded warehouse receipts are first matched with foreign customers. The insufficient part of bonded warehouse receipts is provided by warehouse receipts replacement business. In September 2018, I1809 welcomed the overseas delivery seller's customers, and delivered 10,000 tons of iron powder to the domestic buyer's customers in Dalian Port. This is the first time that foreign traders participate in the delivery of iron ore futures, and also the first attempt of bonded delivery of bulk miscellaneous goods in bonded regulatory sites in China. The whole process of delivery from bonded warehouse receipt generation, fund settlement, delivery of goods to customs declaration of finished goods has withstood inspection.

Although the internationalization of iron ore futures has taken a solid step in this year, relevant market participants pointed out that the degree of understanding and participation of foreign customers in China's futures market and the proportion of foreign customers still need to be improved. In addition, the appropriate system for international varieties, foreign exchange import and export, bonded delivery and other business links need to be optimized. There is still a long way to go to open to the outside world.

“At present, Dalian Port is the only bonded delivery warehouse for iron ore. In the future, the volume of bonded delivery business will increase with the continuous participation of overseas customers. We will increase bonded delivery business in other ports of the country to facilitate more and more overseas customers. “ relevant person in charge pointed out.

In addition to bonded delivery, DCE will continue to promote the optimization of relevant rules and processes related to iron ore internationalization, such as simplifying the establishment process of overseas customer trading account appropriately, saving the cost of opening account time, introducing a more flexible profit exchange system that is close to the needs of overseas customers, improving the efficiency of the use of overseas funds, optimizing the appropriate management of investors and simplifying knowledge examination procedure. Through the above measures, we will deepen the opening of iron ore futures to the outside world, further support overseas customers to continuously participate in China's futures market, and better serve the development of China's iron and steel industry and the national strategy.

Trade on basis is becoming more and more popular in the international market

With iron ore futures entering the era of "internationalization", domestic and foreign industrial customers and investors trade on the same market, which improves the influence and representativeness of China's futures prices in the international market. The change is that basis trade, as a trade mode based on the expected price of goods, makes risk management and enterprise production and operation more closely integrated. In recent years, it has gained more attention and popularization in the global iron ore trade. International iron ore traders and other industrial enterprises began to use the price of iron ore futures as basis trade.

It is reported that in 2018, large international traders Cargill Company and large domestic iron and steel companies such as HBIS Group carried out basis trade. The trade price is determined by the way of iron ore futures price plus premium or discount. After the signing of the contract, traders will build warehouses in the iron ore futures market in due time, referring to the market quotations and their own goods inventory. The steel mill puts forward the demand for the spot price at the appropriate price, and the trader carries out the corresponding hedging operation in the futures market to complete the spot price business. In the cooperation between HBIS Group and Cargill Company, HBIS Group purchased 600,000 tons of iron ore by basis price in 2018, which saved about 14.5 million yuan purchasing cost for group.

"China uses more than 1 billion tons of iron ore annually, and the volatility of the iron and steel industry has been particularly significant in the past few years. In this context, the basis trade contract of iron ore can fully help enterprise to manage raw material risks, and better play the role of financial derivatives in serving the iron and steel industry. Wang Qiang, Director of China Strategic Customer of Cargill Investment Metals Department, said that for iron ore, DCE iron ore futures trading volume and stock holdings are sufficient, and the market impact is enhanced after introducing foreign traders, which provides a high-quality pricing basis for iron ore trade.

Cao Zhuoqun, commodity trading manager of Trafigura Investment Corp., said the company had increased its spot iron ore trading business at ports since the second half of last year. "At present, the liquidity of China's iron ore futures is abundant. It is most appropriate to use the price of China's iron ore futures to price the spot trade of ports. Basis trade based on the expected price is also a major trend of industry trade." He also mentioned that if customers have demand, the company will also explore the use of iron ore futures prices to price floating cargo.

Relevant person in charge of market department of an overseas iron ore enterprise also thinks that many domestic and foreign traders refer to China's iron ore futures price to adjust the spot quotation of Chinese ports. Some international enterprises that have cooperated have begun to use basis trade to price negotiations, and have tasted sweetness in the pricing business.

the innovation pilot project of basis trade has been launched since 2017. Up to now, eight iron ore basis trade pilot projects have been supported. Many representative enterprises such as HBIS and Fujian Sangang have participated in the pilot project. In the pilot project of basis trade last year, Fujian Sangang signed a 200,000-ton iron ore basis trade contract with an international trade enterprise.

"We have realized flexible pricing by means of basis trade. While gaining profits, we have effectively avoided spot price risk and locked in purchase price by agreeing base trade. At the same time, this mode enriches the channels of spot procurement, and is conducive to the formation of close cooperation between the two sides of trade. Xu Yanhong, Vice Minister of Securities Department of Fujian Sangang, said that there is no fixed model and strategy for the choice of buyer and the determination of basis trade, which needs to be studied and explored continuously in the future practice.

Overseas customers have sought hedge from domestic futures instruments

With the accumulation of price fluctuation risk, both overseas mines, traders and domestic steel mills are facing the severe test of risk prevention and control. Reporters learned that, in addition to Australia and other countries with low ore mining costs, the cost of iron ore in other mining enterprises around the world is mostly higher than $40 per ton. The fluctuation of iron ore prices has a greater impact on the revenue of relevant mining enterprises. It is estimated that the non-long trade volume of iron ore by sea is more than 400 million tons, ranking second in the world in terms of iron ore trade volume. How to manage the risk of iron ore market by means of derivatives has become an important issue for domestic and foreign industrial enterprises.

On May 4, 2018, with the internationalization of iron ore futures, China's iron ore futures market has changed from a local market to a global one. It is more convenient for overseas mining and traders to participate in the market. Domestic and foreign customers can further carry out hedging, cross-border warehouse receipt pledge and capacity hedging, so as to reduce the impact of market uncertainties and realize the global industrial chain risk management.

The direct change brought about by the internationalization of business in the futures market is the introduction of foreign traders, including mining, traders and other industrial customers. By the end of April 2019, 125 overseas customers, including Glencore and Mercuria, had opened accounts in Hong Kong, Singapore, Britain, Australia and Japan. Overseas customer turnover is increasing as a whole. In the first four months of 2019, the volume and position of overseas customers increased by 63.7% and 26.4% respectively from May to August of 2018, compared with the initial period of internationalization.

As for the change of market participation structure after the internationalization of iron ore futures, Cai Yongzheng told reporters that since the internationalization of iron ore futures on May 4, 2018, the trading activity of iron ore futures has increased, the participants in the futures market have become more and more diversified, and many foreign investment institutions have actively participated.

Mercuria, an international trader involved in iron ore futures trading, pointed out that over the years, the main reason for the company's participation in the trading was the good liquidity and futures function of China's iron ore futures market. To this end, the company has made careful arrangements and deployment, set up a special trading team, passed the appropriateness audit of specific traders, and established internal control, risk management, information notification and other management systems in accordance with international rules, opened NRA accounts in China, and prepared sufficient transaction funds.

In addition to the first batch of overseas customers, such as Mercuria, Glencore, Rock International Finance and so on, many overseas enterprises have participated in the transaction as domestic registered subjects or through domestic industrial customer agency before, according to the relevant person in charge of DCE. According to rough statistics, the actual foreign background customers of iron ore futures have exceeded 250, and their total volume accounts for 19% of the total volume of transactions since listing.

Enthusiasm of Industry Customer Participation is Increasing

In 2018, when iron ore futures were introduced to foreign traders, China imported 1.064 billion tons of iron ore, a decrease of 1% compared with 2017. This is the first negative growth of annual iron ore imports in China since 2010. Although the import volume has decreased slightly, China's iron and steel industry continues to operate efficiently and the market order has improved significantly. Since 2016, the supply-side reform of the iron and steel industry has been carried out, removing a large number of backward production capacity and restoring the supply and demand pattern of the iron and steel industry, so that the entire iron and steel industry has maintained considerable profits since 2017, and the output has continued to grow. In 2018, the output of pig iron and crude steel in China was 771 million tons and 928 million tons, respectively, which increased by 3.0% and 6.6% year on year. The output of crude steel reached an all-time high. In the first quarter of 2019, China's pig iron production grew by 9%.

While maintaining good development, iron and steel enterprises are more proficient in hedging the price risk of raw materials and products by using futures tools. The combination of futures and spot has become a major trend in the development of iron and steel industry in recent years. At the beginning of 2019, the international iron ore prices fluctuated sharply due to the mining accident in Brazil and hurricane Veronica in Australia. In this context, iron and steel industry chain enterprises are more active in China's futures market. Before April 2019, 47% of corporate customers held positions, up 10 percentage points from the same period last year. "Although this year's mining disaster in Vale is an unexpected event, many enterprises layout ahead of schedule, to a certain extent, to reduce the adverse impact of the sharp rise in mineral prices on steel mills." Li Jin, head of Tangshan Wanyang Trading Co., Ltd., said.

Reporters learned that since 2015, China's iron ore futures hedging efficiency has maintained about 80%, providing an effective tool for industry customers to avoid risks. In 2018, China's iron ore futures trading volume and daily average positions were 240 million lots and 800,000 lots respectively (unilateral, the same below); in the first four months of 2019, the iron ore futures trading volume and daily average position were 83.14 million lots and 77,000 lots respectively. In 2018, China's iron ore futures trading volume is 22 times that of the world's second largest iron ore derivatives market, the New Stock Exchange (SGX) swap and futures. It continues to maintain the position of the world's largest iron ore derivatives market and provides sufficient liquidity for enterprise hedging.

In terms of market structure, since the internationalization of iron ore futures on May 4, 2018, the enthusiasm of iron ore industry customers to participate in futures has continued to increase, and the proportion of corporate positions has steadily increased. In 2018, the average daily positions rate of corporate clients was 42.5%, of which 36.8% was before internationalization and 44.3% after internationalization.

In terms of price correlation, from listing to 2018, the correlation between iron ore futures and spot prices is as high as 0.98, and the correlation between iron ore futures and Prussian index and iron ore swap prices on the New Stock Exchange is also above 0.98. "The high linkage between domestic and foreign prices provides opportunities for many foreign traders to carry out cross-market arbitrage." One Securities Futures Agency Business Headquarters related business leaders mentioned.

"The impact of the futures market has increased, which has made the spot market pay more and more attention to the fluctuation of futures prices. Nearly one stage, the basis between futures and spot is close at the initial stage, and the fluctuation basis is widened during the period. The main reason is that the market divergence is large at different stages, but it will eventually converge at present. Cai Yongzheng, director of Nangang Securities Investment Department, pointed out.

At the delivery stage, by the end of April 2019, iron ore futures had delivered 5.79 million tons. The delivery place is mainly East China Port. The main ore types for delivery are mainstream ones. After internationalization, there are five contracts for delivery of iron ore, with a cumulative delivery of 1.79 million tons, with an average delivery basis of 27.2 yuan/ton, which is basically the same as 23.3 yuan/ton before internationalization (January 2017-the end of April 2018). The stable basis level ensures that the futures settlement price can converge effectively before the expiration of the contract.

In addition to the changes in market structure and price correlation, the liquidity of iron ore futures contracts in recent months has also improved significantly in the past year. Reporters learned that iron ore spot trade and steel plant operation and production have continuity, enterprise hedging or basis price of the ideal contract is 1-3 months of the recent contract. In order to improve the continuity of non-1, 5 and 9 contracts, the exchange has introduced innovative systems such as iron ore warehouse receipt service providers and futures service providers to support customers to participate in recent month contract transactions while eliminating the concerns of avoiding recent month contracts due to poor delivery capacity. Under the above-mentioned system, the volume of iron ore contracts has greatly increased in recent months, such as the volume of contracts 1807 and 1811 were 3.42 million hands and 6.28 million hands respectively, while the volume of contracts 1707 and 1711 were only 0.62 million hands and 0.84 million hands respectively.

"Spot trade shows continuity, so industrial enterprises need to hedge contracts in successive months. The improvement of the activity of non-principal contracts creates conditions for spot enterprises to hedge, and is of great significance for enriching risk hedging means and facilitating industrial enterprises to participate in recent months' contract a director of black research at One Futures Research Institute, believes that after the turnover of non-main contracts improves, traders can also use the price differences between different futures contracts to carry out arbitrage trading, which to some extent helps to reduce the instantaneous frequent fluctuations of contract prices in recent months and promote the smooth operation of transactions. (China Securities News)

各方协力助国际化业务平稳运行

为了巩固和提升对外开放成果，一年来，大商所及各期货公司、存管银行等机构在与国际接轨、做精国际化业务、拓展视野等方面做出了很多的探索。

2018年1月，大商所在新加坡设立首个境外办事处；之后，先后获批成为香港自动化交易服务（ATS）提供者、注册全球法人机构识别编码（LEI）。“这些举措有利于在香港、新加坡以及全球其他地区开展客户开发和业务宣传。目前已在大商所开户交易的境外产业客户、金融机构中，很多是通过香港、新加坡分公司参与铁矿石期货国际化交易。”大商所相关负责人说。

在国际化业务平稳运行的基础上，2019年2月，大商所允许境外个人交易者参与铁矿石期货，进一步扩大了境外客户范围，让更多交易者分享中国期货市场开放发展的红利。

作为连接境内外业务的纽带与桥梁，境内外期货公司在开发和服务境外客户方面也下足了工夫。“境外大型企业对参与期货交易比较谨慎，需要一定的开发周期。为此，我们海外团队举办了多次路演，介绍中国期货市场情况以及铁矿石合约规则、参与渠道、交割细则等，有专人对接潜在意向客户并研究、提供服务方案。”期货机构业务事业总部相关业务负责人表示，一年来公司先后举办了5次海外市场推广活动，越来越多的境外客户了解铁矿石期货交易规则，一些客户已经成功参与到交易中。

对于铁矿石期货国际化开展，交通银行等10家境外客户保证金存管银行同样功不可没。交通银行总行金融机构部副总经理徐俊婷介绍，这一年来，银行为境外交易者提供账户管理、资金划转和结售汇等服务，并支持客户向期货公司、期货公司向交易所的出入金和查询。“在保证合规性的基础上，我们在实际业务中优化业务流程，提高了划转效率和客户办理便捷性，保证期货交易的时效性。”

在各方共同努力下，铁矿石期货国际化从开户交易、资金划转到交割等环节有效运转。“铁矿石合约采用美元和人民币作为保证金，自国际化以来，美元质押上场到结算后的结售汇一直平稳运行。”期货机构业务事业总部相关业务负责人说。

在交割上，为解决境外客户接到完税仓单无法处理的问题，大商所在国际化前推出保税交割业务，保税仓单优先配对给境外客户，保税仓单不足部分由仓单置换业务提供。2018年9月，铁矿石期货1809合约迎来了境外交割卖方客户，在大连港向国内买方客户交割了1万吨的PB粉。这是境外交易者首次参与铁矿石期货交割，也是我国大宗散杂货物在保税监管场所内保税交割的首次尝试。此次交割从保税仓单生成、资金结算、交割货物到尾货报关的全过程经受住检验。

尽管铁矿石期货国际化一周年迈出了坚实的一步，但相关市场人士指出，目前境外客户对于中国期货市场了解和参与程度、境外客户成交比重仍需提升，此外针对国际化品种的适当性制度、外汇出入、保税交割等业务环节还有待优化，对外开放还有很长的路要走。

“目前，大连港是铁矿石唯一一家保税交割库。未来，保税交割业务量会随着境外客户不断参与而有所提升，我们会在全国其他港口增加保税交割业务，为越来越多的境外交割客户提供便利。”大商所相关负责人指出。

除保税交割外，据他介绍，大商所还将持续推动铁矿石国际化相关规则、流程的优化，如适当简化境外客户交易账户设立流程，节约开户交易时间成本；推出更为灵活、贴近境外客户需求的盈利换汇制度，提高境外资金使用效率；优化投资者适当性管理，简化知识考试程序等。通过上述措施深化铁矿石期货对外开放，进一步支持境外客户源源不断参与我国期货市场，更好地服务我国钢铁行业发展、服务国家战略。

基差贸易在国际市场逐渐得到普及

随着铁矿石期货进入“国际化”时代，境内外产业客户和投资者同场交易，提升了中国期货价格在国际市场影响力和代表性。随之带来的变化是，基差贸易作为以期货价格为基准的贸易方式，使得风险管理与企业生产经营有了更紧密的结合，近年来在全球铁矿石贸易中得到了更多关注和普及，国际铁矿石贸易商等产业企业开始利用铁矿石期货价格做基差贸易。

据悉，2018年国际大型贸易商嘉吉公司与河钢集团等国内大型钢厂开展基差贸易，以铁矿石期货价格加上升贴水的方式确定贸易价格。合同签订后，贸易商参考市场行情及自身货物库存，适时在铁矿石期货市场建仓。钢厂在合适的价位提出点价要求，由贸易商在期货市场进行相应对冲操作，完成点价业务。在河钢集团和嘉吉公司合作中，2018年河钢集团通过基差点价采购60万吨铁矿石，为公司节约采购成本约1450万元。

“中国每年铁矿石使用量超过10亿吨，钢铁行业的波动性在过去几年内表现尤为显著。在这样的背景下，铁矿石的基差贸易合约能够充分帮助企业管理原材料风险，更好地发挥金融衍生品为钢铁产业服务的作用。”嘉吉投资金属事业部中国战略客户总监王强说，对于铁矿石而言，大商所铁矿石期货交易量、持仓量充足，引入境外交易者后市场影响提升，为铁矿石贸易提供了优质的定价依据。

同样参与了铁矿石期货交易的国际贸易商托克投资公司大宗商品交易经理曹卓群表示，公司从去年下半年开始增加了港口铁矿石现货贸易业务。“目前中国铁矿石期货流动性充足，用中国铁矿石期货价格为港口现货贸易来定价是最合适的，以期货价格为基准的基差贸易也是行业贸易的一大趋势。”他还提到，如果客户有需求，公司也会探索利用铁矿石期货价格为海漂货进行定价。

某境外铁矿石企业市场部相关负责人也认为，很多国内外的贸易商参考中国铁矿石期货价格，调整对中国港口现货的即时报价，曾合作过的国际企业有的已经开始尝试用基差贸易来定价谈判，在点价业务中尝到甜头。

据了解，大商所自2017年开始推出基差贸易的创新试点，截至目前已支持开展了8个铁矿石基差贸易试点项目，河钢、福建三钢等很多代表性企业都参与试点。在去年基差贸易试点中，福建三钢与某国际贸易企业签订了20万吨的铁矿石基差贸易合同。

“我们利用基差贸易手段实现了灵活定价，在获取利润的同时，通过约定基差有效规避现货价格风险，锁定采购价格。同时，这种模式丰富了现货采购的渠道，有利于贸易双方形成紧密的合作关系。”福建三钢证券部副部长徐燕洪表示，在基差贸易中，买方的选择和基差的确定没有固定模式和策略，需要在今后实践中不断学习和探索。

境外客户寻求境内期货工具避险

随着价格波动风险的积累，无论是境外矿山、贸易商还是境内钢厂都面临风险防控的严峻考验。记者了解到，除澳大利亚等国家矿石开采成本较低之外，全球其他矿山企业铁矿石成本大多高于40美元/吨，铁矿石价格波动对相关矿山企业营收的影响较大。据估算，全球铁矿石海运贸易非长协量超过4亿吨，铁矿石贸易额位居全球第二。如何借助衍生品工具管理铁矿石市场风险，已成为摆在境内外产业企业面前的重要课题。

2018年5月4日，酝酿多年的铁矿石期货国际化落地，我国首个已上市期货品种的对外开放“扬帆起航”，使中国铁矿石期货市场由局域性变为全球性市场，境外矿山、贸易商等产业客户参与更便利，境内外客户可以进一步开展套期保值、跨国仓单质押、产能保值等业务，降低市场不确定因素的影响，进而实现全球范围内的产业链风险管理。

国际化业务为期货市场带来的直接变化，是引入了包括矿山、贸易商等产业客户在内的境外交易者。截至2019年4月底，已有包括嘉能可、摩科瑞等产业客户在内的125个境外客户开户，分布在中国香港、新加坡、英国、澳大利亚、日本等地区。境外客户成交量整体呈现递增态势。2019年前4月，境外客户成交量、持仓量较国际化初期的2018年5月至8月分别增长637%、264%。

对于铁矿石期货国际化后市场参与结构的变化，蔡拥政对记者说，自2018年5月4日铁矿石期货国际化以来，铁矿石期货的交易活跃度有所增加，期货市场参与者也越来越多元化，不少外资机构积极参与。

参与铁矿石期货交易的国际贸易商摩科瑞相关负责人指出，多年来，中国铁矿石期货市场较好的流动性和发挥良好的期货功能，是公司参与交易的主要原因。为此，公司做了周密的安排和部署，组建专门交易团队，通过了特定品种交易者适当性审核，并按照国际化规则建立了内部控制、风险管理、信息通报等管理制度，在中国境内开立了NRA账户，准备了充足的交易资金。

除摩科瑞、嘉能可、磐石国际金融等企业成为国际化首批境外客户之外，大商所相关负责人介绍，很多境外企业此前已经以境内注册主体身份或通过境内产业客户代理的方式参与交易。据粗略统计，铁矿石期货的实际外资背景客户已超过250家，其总成交量占上市以来成交总量的19%。

产业客户参与积极性不断提升

在铁矿石期货引入境外交易者的2018年，我国进口铁矿石10.64亿吨，同比2017年减少1%，为2010年来我国铁矿石年进口首次出现负增长。虽然进口量略有减少，但我国钢铁行业延续高效运行，市场秩序明显改善。自2016年开始推行的钢铁行业供给侧改革，去除大量落后产能，修复钢铁行业供需格局，使整个钢铁行业从2017年至今维持了较为可观的利润，产量也持续增长。2018年我国生铁、粗钢产量分别为7.71亿吨、9.28亿吨，同比分别增加3.0%、6.6%，粗钢产量创历史新高。2019年一季度我国生铁产量增速高达9%。

在保持良好发展的同时，钢铁企业在利用期货工具对冲原料及产品价格风险方面也更加得心应手，期现结合成为近年来钢铁行业发展的一大趋势。2019年初，受巴西矿难事故、澳大利亚“维罗妮卡”飓风袭击等影响，国际铁矿石价格出现大幅波动。在此背景下，钢铁产业链企业更积极参与我国期货市场。2019年前4月，法人客户持仓占比47%，较去年同期增长了10个百分点。“今年淡水河谷矿难虽然是突发性事件，但很多企业提前布局，一定程度降低了矿价大幅上涨对钢厂的不利影响。”唐山万阳贸易有限公司负责人李津说。

记者了解到，自2015年以来，我国铁矿石期货套保效率保持约80%，为产业客户规避风险提供了有效工具。2018年，我国铁矿石期货成交量、日均持仓量分别为2.4亿手、80万手（单边，下同）；2019年前4个月，铁矿石期货成交量、日均持仓量分别为8314万手、77万手。2018年，我国铁矿石期货成交量是世界第二大铁矿石衍生品市场——新交所（SGX）掉期和期货的22倍，继续保持全球最大铁矿石衍生品市场的地位，为企业套保提供了充足的流动性。

在市场结构上，2018年5月4日铁矿石期货国际化以来，铁矿石产业客户参与期货的积极性持续提升，法人持仓占比稳步提高。2018年，法人客户日均持仓占比为42.5%，其中国际化前为36.8%，国际化后提高至44.3%。

在价格相关性上，上市以来至2018年，铁矿石期现价格相关性高达0.98，与普氏指数、新交所铁矿石掉期价格的相关性也在0.98以上。“境内外价格高度联动性为很多境外交易者开展跨市场套利提供了机会。”期货机构业务事业总部相关业务负责人提到。

“期货市场影响力提升，使现货市场越来越关注期货价格波动。近一阶段，期货与现货的基差初期贴合靠近，期间波动基差有所拉大，主要是市场阶段性多空分歧较大，但最终还是会走向期现收敛。”南钢股份证券投资部主任蔡拥政指出。

在交割环节，截至2019年4月底，铁矿石期货累计交割579万吨。交割地点以华东港口为主。交割矿种以主流矿为主。其中，国际化后铁矿石共有5个合约发生交割，累计交割179万吨，交割基差平均27.2元/吨，与国际化前（2017年1月-2018年4月底）的23.3元/吨基本持平。稳定的基差水平保障了期货结算价在合约到期前能够有效收敛。

除了市场结构、价格相关性变化之外，一年来铁矿石期货近月合约的流动性也有明显改善。记者了解到，铁矿石现货贸易和钢厂经营生产具有连续性，企业套保或者基差定价的理想合约是1-3个月的近月合约。为提高非1、5、9合约交易活跃的连续性，大商所推出了铁矿石仓单服务商、期货服务商等创新制度，在支持客户参与近月合约交易的同时打消因交割能力较差而回避近月合约的顾虑。在上述制度作用下，铁矿石近月合约成交量有大幅提升，如1807和1811合约成交量分别为342万手和628万手，而1707和1711合约成交量分别只有0.62万手和0.84万手。

“现货贸易呈现连续性，因此产业企业需要在连续月份合约进行套保。非主力合约活跃度的提高为现货企业套保创造了条件，对丰富风险对冲手段、便利产业企业参与近月合约套保具有重要意义。”某期货研究所黑色研究总监认为，非主力合约成交好转后，交易者还可以利用不同期货合约价格之间的价差变化进行套利交易，在一定程度上有助于减少近月合约价格瞬间频繁波动，促进交易平稳运行。（中国证券报 马爽）