With stable ocean freight rates and iron ore prices increasing in the Chinese spot market, iron ore prices in Brazil have increased in average by $4/mt from last week.
Sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are now traded for export at $71/mt, lumps at $75/mt and blast furnace grade pellets at $106/mt, FOB conditions.
In the domestic market, the prices are now $66/mt for sinter feed fines, $69/mt for lumps and $101/mt for pellets, ex-works, no taxes included.
The iron unit of the Brazilian fine ore remains priced 12 percent higher when compared with the Australian product, against a historic average of similar prices, reflecting the higher energy efficiency of the Brazilian ore, in terms of coke consumption in blast furnaces.
In world terms, the premium for blast furnace grade pellets over sinter feed fines remains at $35/mt, while for DRI grade pellets it remains at $45/mt.