Indian export offers for high grade iron ore (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and above) have continued to remain under pressure, falling by $2-3/mt during the past week to the range of $131-132/mt CFR China as buyers have retreated and volumes have fallen to negligible amounts, traders said.
According to an Orissa-based miner-exporter, traders representing Chinese steel mills have remained absent for most of the week, resulting in a worsening of sentiment in the market and local traders have failed to book any significant volumes.
According to reports received in India, Chinese inward shipments of iron ore during December declined on month-on-month basis and this, coupled with weak steel prices, has prompted traders to reduce iron ore imports to China and to reduce restocking at Chinese ports, the miner-exporter said.
The depressed market conditions and the low volume of bookings have created some confusion as volumes are usually higher during the winter months when local Chinese supplies are usually lower, he added.
"What was perceived as a downward correction early in the month has expanded into a definite bearish trend and the local market is not able to foresee any downside support either," a Kolkata-based trader said.
Market sources said that even the few enquiries for relatively small volumes have vanished during the week because of the liquidity issues faced by traders representing steel mills overseas.