A sharp increase of iron ore prices in the Chinese spot market, coupled with stable ocean freight rates, has resulted in an $8/mt week-on-week price increase for Brazilian iron ore, achieving the highest level seen in three years.
Sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are now traded for export at $79/mt, lumps at $82/mt and blast furnace grade pellets at $124/mt, FOB conditions.
In the domestic market, the prices are now $72/mt for sinter feed fines, $75/mt for lumps and $117/mt for blast furnace grade pellets, ex-works, no taxes included.
In January, Brazilian exports of iron ore (pellets excluded) reached 26.598 million mt, 11.7 percent less than in December 2016. The main destinations were Asia (21.472 million mt, of which 16.239 million mt to China), the EU (2.956 million mt), the Middle East (1.212 million mt), and Latin America (356,000 mt).
Pellet exports from Brazil reached 2.317 million mt in January, a 21 percent decrease from December 2016, destined to the EU (556,600 mt), Asia (550,600 mt), Africa (495,300 mt), and the US (341,200 mt).
Pellets of the blast furnace grade are reportedly commanding a premium of $45/mt over sinter feed fines, while the premium for the DRI grade product is $54.50/mt.