India: Iron ore concentrate prices inch down, trade subdued

Iron ore concentrate prices in Jabalpur, central India, witnessed a marginal decrease this week due to low buying interest.

SteelMint’s index for Fe 63% concentrate prices currently stands at around INR 3,050/tonne (t) exw, a fall of INR 50/t as against the last assessment on 27 August.

Some offers were also heard higher at INR 3,500/t exw. However, no trading activities have been reported at higher offers.

Factors weighing on iron ore concentrate prices:

• Pellet prices down w-o-w: SteelMint’s bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, stood at INR 8,400/t DAP Raipur on 30 August, 2022, down around INR 150/t, w-o-w. Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd (GPIL) has reduced domestic pellet offers by INR 300/t ($4/t) to INR 8,800/t exw ($110/t) from INR 9,100/t exw ($114/t) which prevailed last week. Buyers are mostly focusing on NMDC’s price revision which is around the corner for next month’s deliveries.
• Iron ore prices fall INR 100/t w-o-w: SteelMint’s weekly Odisha iron ore fines index (Fe 62%) witnessed a w-o-w fall of around INR 100/t to stand at INR 3,400/t ex-mines. No deals were reported in this week as market participants have not seen much interest in the current offers prevailing in the market. A drop in pellet and sponge offers have limited active bids for iron ore purchases, highlighted sources. The ongoing monsoon season also impacted the market from the iron ore supply point of view. Hence, miners are largely holding offers firm.

Outlook

Iron ore concentrate prices are likely to remain supported after the end of the monsoon. However, the deciding factor could be the movement in pellet and iron ore prices.