Indian export offers for high grade
iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and above) have continued to come under pressure, moving down by $3/mt during the past week to the range of $87-88/mt CFR China with buyers unwilling to conclude transactions, traders said on Tuesday, September 2.
"The negative outlook on global steel prices have combined with the reported tight liquidity faced by Chinese steel mills to put fresh pressure on Indian
iron ore export offers. The decline below the $90/mt mark has worsened sentiments," an Orissa-based miner-exporter said.
"With offers weakening below the $90/mt mark, no support is expected by the market, barring some short-term correction. But the medium-term outlook will continue to be negative with neither buyers nor sellers willing to conclude transactions," he said.
He said that most buyers and sellers are in wait-and-watch mode, with the latter hoping for prices to have bottomed out in the short term, while buyers are not inclined to conclude high-volume transactions.
Market sources said that most enquiries during the week have been for small volumes for which transactions have not been concluded since current offer levels are not remunerative for small volumes.
Since most Chinese steel mills prefer to depend on small volumes drawn from stocks at ports and are unlikely to go in for heavy restocking in view of the softness of steel prices, the outlook for Indian offers is expected to remain negative in the short term, the sources added.