Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content 63.5 percent and above) continued to decrease during the past week, losing $1-2/mt to around $55-56/mt CFR China, as buyers were anticipating a new bottom and holidays ahead, traders said on Friday, September 25.
“The much anticipated re-stocking ahead of Chinese extended holidays end-month did not materialize prompting local traders to lower offers,” said an Orissa based miner-exporter.
“Since the $60/mt mark failed to hold early in the month, most buyers expected a new market bottom and hence eased off concluding transactions,” he said.
“In fact there is much talk amongst traders representing Chinese steel mills that $50/mt may be the new short term bottom and this impacts sentiments and offers levels here,” he added.
Market sources said that apart from the demand side, excess supplies of fines too depress offer levels.
Number of mines getting back into production in western province of Goa and higher production in Odisha with monsoon rains receding leads to higher stock with aggregating traders while transaction volumes continues to fall, the sources added.