- No export deal heard from eastern coast of India
- High-grade pellet export tender receives decent premium
The Indian pellet export market showed an uptick of $1/t this week for east coast-origin material, with no export deal concluded due to a prevailing bid-offer mismatch. Exporters noted a slight rise in inquiries, but the persistent price gap continued to hinder transactions.
Price update
BigMint’s India pellet (Fe 63%, 3-3.5% Al) export index (FOB east coast) rose by $1/t w-o-w to $92/t on 9 July 2025 against 2 July. Notably, no pellet export deal was reported from India’s eastern coast this week, highlighting sluggishness in trade activity. The rise in the vessel freight slightly lowered the FOB prices in the last couple of days, while CNF prices remained firm in the Chinese market.
An Odisha-based exporter quoted, “We are seeing some interest, but the buyers are still quoting much lower than our offer levels.”
Meanwhile, an Indian pellet maker recently concluded an export deal for 50,000 t of high-grade low alumina material (Fe64%, Alumina<2%) in a tender scheduled last week. The deal was heard to have recently concluded at around $101.5-102/t FOB India, as sources reported.
Market commentary
Last week’s high-grade low-alumina pellet export tender received strong response from overseas buyers, which briefly lifted sentiment on the eastern coast. A trader commented, “If the iron ore fines index touches $100/t CFR China, pellet export deals may finally start flowing again.”
Meanwhile, Chinese mills have shown preference for higher-grade pellets with low alumina from other regions over Indian 63/63.5% Fe material, which has further pressured India’s seaborne pellet trade from the eastern coast. An exporter informed, “China is chasing quality. Unless we offer low alumina content at competitive rates, we might continue to see weakened sentiments for Indian pellet.”
In contrast, the domestic market saw mild improvement in central India. Pellet prices in regions like Raipur moved up due to active restocking and better demand. This may give a boost to Odisha pellet prices also. An Odisha pellet producer mentioned, “The domestic market is more supportive right now. Buyers are booking at current levels, and realisation is better than in exports.”
A bulk domestic tender is also expected to conclude soon, which could impact short-term pricing. This may have led to sellers’ interest keeping in the domestic market.
The bid-offer gap remains at $10/t for Indian pellets in the sea market, which is preventing export deals. Meanwhile, a high-grade deal was reported completed for the African region by a western coast exporter.
Domestic vs export market gap
Domestic prices exceeded export offers by around INR 1,550/t ($18/t), narrowing w-o-w amid higher export values and stable domestic tags. Pellet (Fe63%) prices in Odisha’s Barbil were recorded at INR 7,550/t ($88/t) exw, stable w-o-w. Meanwhile, the ex-plant realisation in exports from Barbil stood at INR 6,000/t ($70/t) exw.
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.
- Eight (8) indicative prices were received, and seven (7) were considered for the calculation of the index and given 100% weightage.
Factors impacting pellet exports
Chinese iron ore fines prices up w-o-w: The benchmark iron ore fines index rose $2/t w-o-w at $95/t CFR China on 8 July. Prices moved up due to strong trading, primarily focused on medium-grade fines. The increase followed gains in the ferrous complex, with iron ore reflecting the uptrend in steel futures and other raw materials. However, mills were not eager to buy bulk stock, acquiring material only as needed.
DCE iron ore futures increase w-o-w: Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) for the May 2025 contract inched up by RMB 14/t ($2/t) w-o-w to RMB 736.5/t ($102/t) on 9 July. Meanwhile, prices rose by RMB 5/t ($1/t) d-o-d today.
Outlook
The pellet export market is expected to remain volatile based on fluctuations in global fines prices; however, deals are unlikely at the current price level amid bid-offer disparity.
Leave a Reply