With the market running out of steam, Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have declined by $4/mt during the past week to $86.50/mt CFR China, amid the weakening of steel prices and a fall in speculative activity in the futures market, traders said on Friday, March 10.
"The high level of speculative activity that was pushing up iron ore prices has given way as fundamentals like finished steel prices started to weaken during the week," an Odisha-based miner-exporter said.
"The bullish sentiments seen recently that pushed Indian offers above the $90/mt mark have clearly changed. Now the question in the market is what the next bottom will be," the miner-exporter added.
At least two other traders pointed out that premiums charged for high grade Australian lumps have disappeared and, as a result, there has been a fall in interest and volumes for Indian high grade fines too.
The traders said that Chinese steel mills have sharply reduced off-take from port stocks and hence several traders representing Chinese steel mills have stayed away, declining to respond to Indian offers.