Indian export offers for high grade
iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have remained range bound during the past week within less than $1/mt in either direction at around $56-57/mt CFR China due to lack of demand and with buyers being uncertain of the medium-term market outlook, traders said on Friday, August 21.
"There are a lot of uncertainties in the market and there is no support from the demand side for local offers," an Orissa-based miner-exporter said.
"The market was yet to assess the impact of the devaluation of the Chinese currency on Chinese steel mills' appetite for imported raw material as well as on the medium-term outlook for steel prices," the miner-exporter said.
"At the local level, the market expects exportable volumes of
iron ore fines to be very plentiful, with mining operations resuming in Goa further depressing sentiments and offer levels," he added.
Some market sources have said that local physical shipments have also been impacted by the negative outlook for the futures market. They have pointed out that the futures market might have entered an overbought position during the recovery from levels lower than $50/mt and an unwinding of positions is expected. This is also keeping buyers away from concluding transactions.