Reflecting a sharp decrease of prices in the Chinese spot market, iron ore prices in Brazil declined in average by $7/mt on a weekly basis, returning to the levels of early August.
Lumps were an exception, as the premium over the equivalent sinter feed fines has increased to the highest levels in recent years, reflecting chiefly the scarcity of the product in the country’s mines.
Sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are traded for export from Brazil at $64/mt, lumps at $92/mt and blast furnace grade pellets at $108/mt, FOB conditions.
In the Brazilian domestic market, the prices are now $58/mt for sinter feed fines, $86/mt for lumps and $102/mt for blast furnace grade pellets, ex-works, no taxes included.
In August, Brazil exported 31.577 million mt of iron ore (pellets excluded), with Asia as the main destination (24.058 million mt, of which 19.749 million mt shipped to China).
The exports of pellets reached 2.548 million mt, of which 754,100 mt to the EU, 697,000 mt to Africa, 528,300 mt to Asia and 294,500 mt to the US.