India: NMDC reduces iron ore prices by up to INR 650/t ($7/t) in Oct’25

• India steel index slips m-o-m on weakening domestic prices
• Falling sponge iron prices and cost-competitive landed pellet offers weigh on Raipur offers

India’s largest merchant iron ore mining company, NMDC, reduced its list prices of iron ore CLO (calibrated lump ore) and fines on 22 October 2025, BigMint learnt from sources. The miner has fixed prices of DR CLO (10-40 mm, Fe 67%) at INR 6,200/tonne (t) ($71/t) and of iron ore fines (-10 mm, Fe 64%) at INR 4,750/t ($54/t), a drop of INR 650/t ($7/t) and INR 500/t ($6/t), respectively. Notably, the miner had last revised prices on 01 Aug’25.

Prices are on FOR basis from the miner’s Bacheli complex and include royalty, DMF, and NMEDT.

Factors behind price drop

• India steel index slips as market momentum stalls ahead of Diwali – BigMint’s flagship India steel composite index, a barometer of the domestic steel market, edged down by 0.9% w-o-w, as assessed on 17 October 2025. The continued downtrend, with steel prices dropping to multi-year lows, points to the combined impact of an extended monsoon, festive slowdown and inventory pressure in the domestic market.
• Raipur’s pellet offers drop by INR 400/t ($5/t) – Raipur-based pellet producers reduced their offers for Fe 63/63.5% (+/-0.5%) material by INR 400/t ($5/t) to INR 9,850-9,900/t ($112/t) exw towards the closing of last week. A drop in sponge iron prices, along with cost-competitive landed pellet offers from eastern India, pulled down pellet tags inthe centralbelt.
• Bids fall over INR 300/t ($3/t) in OMC’s Sept auction: In OMC’s iron ore fines (Fe 51-65%) auction of 1.92 million tonnes (mnt) on 19 September 2025, around 1.674 mnt (87%) were booked at INR 2,550-5,450/t/t ($29-61/t). Bids (weighted average) fell by INR 350/t ($4/t) m-o-m. Meanwhile, the auction for 1.178 mnt of iron ore lumps on 19 September 2025, saw bookings of around 1.088 mnt (Fe 60-65%) at INR 5,600-7,400/t ($63-83/t). Weighted average bids fell by around INR 100/t ($1/t) m-o-m. Weak steel market sentiments led to the drop in bids. However, in the recent Oct’25 auctions conducted by OMC, the wighted average bids for fines lots have remained largely stable on a m-o-m basis.