- Australian miner lowers discount for low-grade ore
- Indian sellers conclude two deals for China this week
BigMint’s weekly Indian low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index remained stable w-o-w at $65.5/tonne (t) FOB east coast on 2 May 2024. However, most seaborne buyers are not available in the market as Chinese steelmakers are on holiday this week because of the Labour Day celebrations because of which trading activity remain subdued in this country.
One deal of 55,000 t was concluded last weekend for standard Indian-origin Fe57% fines at $85-86/t CFR China. Another eastern India-based trader sold around 55,000 t of iron ore fines (Fe 57%) earlier this week at $80/t CFR China, sources informed BigMint.
Price indicators:
- Two (2) deals were reported this week for fines Fe57% from the east coast ports, One was taken into consideration for calculation and was thus given 50% weightage. For detailed methodology Click here.
- BigMint received fifteen (15) indicative prices in the current publishing window and thirteen (13) were considered for price calculation as T2 inputs and given a 50% weightage.
Indian-origin iron ore fines continued to find support in the seaborne market due to restocking by Chinese steelmakers ahead of the Labour Day holiday. However, trading activity has been relatively quiet this week as buyers stayed on the sidelines during this holiday week.
Buyers are currently seeking a 27% discount for June shipments. Meanwhile, a major Australian miner recently lowered the discount for lower-grade fines to 15% for May deliveries, down from 16.5% in April. However, according to sources, this discount adjustment may not significantly affect the Indian seaborne market.
A miner said, “Demand was good in the overseas market and few sellers successfully sold their material. The price level has improved in the last two weeks. However, some still did not make transactions as they were optimistic that the market would be aggressive post-holidays due to the seasonal nature of Chinese demand.”
On the other hand, portside offers in China for Indian iron ore fines (Fe57%) remained stable w-o-w on 30 April. The offers were recorded at around RMB 665/t ($93/t) at Qingdao Port, inclusive of all import taxes and port charges.
Portside Chinese transactions also remained muted as restocking activity by mills has been already completed and participants are optimistic about market sentiments post-holidays.
Notably, iron ore inventories at China’s major ports inched up by 0.5 mnt to 145.1 mnt on 29 April compared to last week, according to SteelHome data. For the second time, Chinese iron ore inventory at ports recorded a two-year high. The last time such levels were recorded was in the first half of May 2022.
Other highlights:
- Iron ore spot prices up w-o-w: The benchmark iron ore fines index increased by $3/t w-o-w to $117/t CFR China on 30 April. The buying interest remained lower as mills procured the material ahead of the Labour Day holidays. The cargo arriving at the end of May has been restocked, but the purchasing process for June arrivals has not yet begun. Chinese port stock prices fell as spot market buying declined.
- DCE futures rise w-o-w: Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) for the September 2024 contract increased by RMB 25/t ($3/t) w-o-w to RMB 874 ($121/t) on 30 April. Prices remained stable d-o-d before markets closed.
- India iron ore shipments up w-o-w: India’s iron ore export shipments were recorded at 622,977 t in the third week of April, compared to 470,790 t in the last week, as per vessel line-up data maintained with BigMint.
Outlook
The seaborne export market for Indian iron ore fines is likely to remain strong after the holidays as demand is expected to increase due to anticipated positive market fundamentals. However, a clearer picture will emerge once participants return from the holiday period.