Prices of iron ore products in the Brazilian domestic market went down on US$ basis by 3 to 4 percent over the last two months, a source from a major local slab producer told SteelOrbis.
According to the source, the company is currently paying $78/mt for the sinter feed fines, $93/mt for pellets and $69/mt for lumps, CFR conditions at the company’s plant.
The source added that further reduction of prices is expected due to lower international prices of the ore, as supply contracts are linked to such indicators.
During September, Brazilian miners increased iron ore exports (ex-pellets) by 15.4 percent from August to 28.38 million mt, while exports of pellets went up by 27.7 percent to 4.69 million mt, according to the country’s ministry of development, industry and foreign trade, MDIC.
The average FOB price of the ore was stable at $61.86/mt, while for pellets the price went down by 3.1 percent to $104.82/mt.
The main destinations of the ore in September were Asia (22.47 million mt, of which 16.04 million mt to China), Europe (3.74 million mt), the Middle East (1.51 million mt) and South America (616,000 mt).
For pellets, the main destinations were Asia (1.68 million mt), Europe (1.36 million mt), the Middle East (680,000 mt), Latin America (365,000 mt) and Africa (308,900 mt).
Between January and September, the FOB price of the ore (ex-pellets) exported by the Brazilian producers went down by 35 percent, while for pellets the reduction was 24 percent.