India: Iron Pellet Exports Improved in August; imports remain Low 

Exports of Iron Pellet from India improved in August


Exports of Iron Pellet from Indian Port improved by 56% to a total of 101,700 MT in the month of August as compared to 65,100 MT exported in July.


From Paradip Port (In MT)


                                  August           July     


China (Asia)              53,000            0

Oman (Middle East)  48,600            0


From Vizag Port (In MT) 


China (Asia)              August              July     

                                 0                65,100


High realizations from export deals with Chinese buyers as Rupee touched 69 levels against US dollar accounted for an increase in trading volumes.


No new deal has been finalized recently because of high truck freight charges of Rs 300-400/MT and limitation in movement of Pellets by road due to traffic jam at Paradip Port.


Spot Iron ore (Fe 63.5/63) prices in China came down by USD 3/MT to USD 135 CFR China the previous day, which might not encourage exports of Pellets in the near term.

If exporters close any new export deal, transportation of the material by Rakes would cost Rs 350/MT more in comparison to freight of Rs 2,400/MT by road.  


Imports of Iron Pellet to India remained low

Imports of Iron Pellet to the northwest region of India took place in limited quantities in the month of August, though it was slightly up in comparison to July.


In August, a total quantity of 37,500 Metric Ton (MT) of Pellet was imported to Kandla Port from countries such as Russia (Europe) and Bahrain (Middle East).


In July, only 25,000 MT of the material had been imported. 

To Kandla Port (In MT)



                       August                        July     


From Russia   32,000 (+12,000)   20,000

         Bahrain   5,500  (+1,100)      4,000


To Mundra Port


          Australia        0                     1,000


Free fall in Rupee against US dollar resulted in limited imports of Pellet to India.


Also, Sponge iron manufacturers located in the state of Gujarat had preferred to take the material either from Paradip (Odisha) or from KIOCL (Mangalore) owing to lower landed cost. 


Domestic Iron Pellet Offers sustain at high levels


Iron Pellet makers based in Barbil (Odisha) are not offering their material to domestic buyers.


In Barbil, prices were standing in the range of Rs 7,100-7,200/MT (loaded) before sales were closed.


One of the Pellet producers offering its material from Keonjhar and Jharsuguda has also closed bookings as it has to look into shipment of 30,000 tonnes of the material, for a recent deal been finalized.


Prevailing Pellet prices (Rs/MT) with W-o-W change:


Keonjhar: 7,000 (+800)

Jajpur: 7,250 (loaded)

Raipur: 8,200 (+350)

Tatanagar: 7,600 (+350)

Bellary: 7,025-7,800 (+300) & 6,200 (Fe 60)

Paradip: 8,200 CFR Chennai

Basic prices for Fe 63

W-o-W: Week on Week


Domestic Pellet offers in eastern region might not increase further, provided production and supply continue to remain low and export market slows down.


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *