- Rise in global iron ore fines and futures support India exports
- Positive economic factors supported Indian fines
- Some transactions concluded from India
BigMint’s weekly Indian low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index rose by $8.5/t w-o-w to $65/t FOB east coast on 18 April 2024.
One deal of 55,000 t was heard for standard Fe 57% fines at $74-75/t CFR China earlier this week. One more deal of 55,000 t was heard at around $77-78/t CFR China recently but it is yet to be confirmed. Discount for Fe 56/57 grade is also stands at around 25-26% from the last week which was 25-27%.
In another export deal for Fe 54 fines were concluded by an Odisha based miner. around three shipments have been booked for this week at the index price at around $62-64 CFR China (32-33% discount).
The iron ore fines prices in the seaborne market sharply recovered this week amid the improvement in the global iron ore fines and futures prices after some announcement came from the Chinese government for the domestic steel market in China.
An industry source from eastern India said: “There are reports of negotiations for some deals on the eastern coast, following hike in prices of the seaborne market for Indian iron ore fines over the last couple of days. The miner has new stocks from mines for next month’s deliveries and is ready to sell their material. However, a few traders are still waiting for further price hikes as they had procured material at higher prices from the domestic market”.
The benchmark iron ore fines index increased by $9/t w-o-w to $117/t CFR China on 17 April. Seaborne iron ore prices rose due to positive economic news about steel production coupled with increased iron ore demand. Prices are being supported by the resumption of steel production and restocking activity for May delivery cargoes. China is accelerating the issuance of special bonds worth $138 billion for construction projects to boost domestic steel consumption.
A miner said, “The response from buyers has been positive this week, making the current prices decent for selling material. Some positive changes in Chinese macroeconomic factors have boosted the confidence of Indian market, resulting in a few deals being cracked from India. We are currently in negotiations with buyers and plan to sell the material at a 20-22% discount on the current index. However, the buyers’ bids were at a 25% discount on the IODEX index.“
On the other hand, a few Chinese steel sources said that portside offers in China for Indian iron ore fines (Fe57%) rose by RMB 50/t ($7/t) w-o-w on 18 April. The offers were recorded at around RMB 655/t ($92/t) at Qingdao Port, inclusive of all import taxes and port charges.
According to sources, Chinese mills still consider low-grade Indian fines as a viable option due to the ample port stock inventories, which are also keeping discounts on the wider end.
Notably, iron ore inventories at China’s major ports fell by 0.5 mnt to 143.1 mnt on 18 April compared to last week, according to SteelHome data.
Other highlights:
- DCE iron ore futures rise: Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) for the September 2024 contract sharply increased by RMB 58.5/t ($8/t) w-o-w to RMB 874 ($121/t) on 18 April. Prices remained largely stable on a d-o-d basis.
- India iron ore shipment falls w-o-w: India’s iron ore export shipments were recorded at 313,620 t in the second week of April, compared to 497,751 t in the last week, as per vessel line-up data maintained with BigMint.
Price indicators:
- One (1) deal was reported this week for fines Fe 57% from the East Coast but not taken into consideration for calculation and was thus given 0% weightage. For detailed methodology Click here.
- BigMint received twenty (20) indicative prices in the current publishing window and fifteen (15) were considered for price calculation as T2 inputs and given a 100% weightage.
Outlook
The seaborne export market for Indian iron ore fines is expected to conclude with the optimistic sentiment from China. However, Indian export market is missing bulk deals from the last few weeks.