India’s iron ore export market sentiments continued to remain supported on enquiries from China amid thinning margins in finished steel. SteelMint’s weekly index for India’s low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) exports stood at $60/t FOB east coast, increasing by $6/t w-o-w.
Price indicators:
- One confirmed deal for 55,000t Fe 57% fines was concluded at $85/t, CFR China by an Odisha-based miner in the current publishing window and hence given 50% weightage under T1 trade. Click here for methodology.
- SteelMint received eight (8) indicative prices, bids and offers in the current publishing window and all were considered for price calculation as T2 inputs and given 50% weightage.
Notably, Tangshan lifted steelmaking restrictions imposed to fight the COVID-19 surge earlier this week which improved raw material deliveries to the steel mills. Also, with margins of steel mills getting squeezed, enquiries for low-grade iron ore have gained momentum in China. Additionally, bulk freight rates have eased out further by $2/dmt against last week. All these factors have lifted Indian iron ore export prices.
Market highlights –
- Fe 62% spot iron ore prices down $9/t w-o-w: The spot price of benchmark iron ore (Fe 62%) fines decreased w-o-w to $151.4/t CFR China on 14 April, 2022 as against $160.2/t a week ago. Seaborne iron ore prices fell following a news release that Chinese state planning bodies are holding onto their plans to keep rising bulk commodity prices under control.
- DCE iron ore futures volatile: DCE iron ore futures’ September contract closed at RMB 901.5/t ($141/t) on 14 April, 2022, up RMB 17.5/t ($3/t) compared with the previous day. However, on a weekly basis, prices inched up by around RMB 1.5/t ($0.24/t).
- Port inventories in China inch down: Iron ore inventory at major Chinese ports inched down to 154.9 mnt on 7 April, 2022 compared to 155.6 mnt last week, as per SteelHome data.
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