Iron ore concentrate prices in Jabalpur, central India, remained stable w-o-w due to a hike in pellet prices and stability in Odisha’s iron ore prices post an active response in Odisha Mining Corporation’s (OMC’s) iron ore auction.
The state-owned miner, OMC, conducted an iron ore auction on 16 February 2023. Out of 574,000 tonnes (t) of fines put up for auction, 559,000 t or 97% of the total quantity received bids. The bid price for fines increased by up to INR 1,100/t against the last auction on 17 January.
SteelMint’s index for Fe63% concentrate prices currently stands at around INR 5,200/t exw, stable w-o-w.
Meanwhile, two deals of 40,000 t and 12,000 t were concluded at INR 5,200/t exw and INR 5,300/t exw, respectively, which were taken into consideration as T1 trade for index calculation.
Factors supporting iron ore concentrate prices:
- Hike in pellet prices: SteelMint’s bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe63%) index, PELLEX, stood at INR 10,200/t DAP Raipur on 21 February, an increase of around INR 250/t w-o-w. Raipur-based pellets producers increased offers yesterday by INR 300/t to INR 10,200-10,500/t ($123-127/t) exw from INR 9,900-10,200/t ($120-123/t) exw. Eastern India-based players had already lifted offers sharply post OMC auction. Prices of iron ore fines, the main component of pellet-making, increased sharply which drove up pellets prices.
- Odisha iron ore prices stable w-o-w: SteelMint’s weekly Odisha iron ore fines (Fe62%) index stood at INR 5,400/t ex-mines. After the auctions, most merchant miners kept their offers on hold.
Outlook
Iron ore concentrate prices are expected to remain supported in the near term in view of active trade happening at current offers. However, the deciding factor may be the movement of iron ore and pellet prices.
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