- Bid- offer disparities keep enquiries low
- Indian sellers prefers to sell in local market
Indian pellet prices remained stable w-o-w in the export market due to a lack of trading activity. Market participants stayed cautious amid bid-offer disparities and remained inactive due to lower export realisations, leading to subdued market sentiment and limited transactions throughout the period.
BigMint’s India pellet (Fe 63%, 3% Al) export index (FOB east coast) remained unchanged w-o-w at $96/tonne (t) on 19 March 2025 against the previous assessment on 12 March. No trades were recorded this week from the east coast.
A trader commented, “Buyers continue to place lower bids, while sellers remain resistant to price concessions, leading to subdued market activity and which has limited finalising of deals.”
Domestic ex-plant realisation exceeded export offers by INR 1,800-1,900/t ($21-22/t) w-o-w as compared to INR 1,750/t ($20/t) last week. Pellet (Fe63%) prices in Odisha’s Barbil were recorded at INR 8,150/t ($94/t) exw — steady w-o-w. Meanwhile, ex-plant realisation in exports from Barbil stood at approximately INR 6,300/t ($74/t) exw.
A seller informed, “We are getting good realisation in the domestic market following the active deals concluded in the eastern region. The seaborne market sentiments are weak and bid-offer disparity has been weighing on export trades.”
Chinese steel mills are facing tight profit margins, making them highly price-sensitive when sourcing raw materials, while demand for high-premium pellets remains weak, compared to other alternatives.
Rationale
- No confirmed deals from India’s east coast were recorded in this publishing window for T1 trade. Thus, this category was not taken into consideration for today’s price calculations and accorded 0% weightage in the index calculation. Click here for the detailed methodology.
- Twelve (12) indicative prices were received, and eight (8) were considered for calculation of the index and given 100% weightage.
Factors impacting pellet exports
- Chinese iron ore fines prices rise by $2/t w-o-w: The benchmark iron ore fines index rose by $2/t w-o-w to $104/t CFR China on 18 March supported by stable demand and trading activity. While hot metal production remains subdued, healthy steel mill margins are stabilising prices. However, mills’ low-inventory strategy limits their ability to absorb of full-cargo shipments of high-grades.
- DCE iron ore futures dip w-o-w: Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) for the May 2025 contract inched down w-o-w by RMB 14.5 ($2/t) to RMB 760/t ($105/t) on 19 March. On a d-o-d basis, futures fell by RMB 17/t ($2/t).
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