Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have continued to seek a new bottom, with prices edging down by $1/mt during the past week to the range of around $68-69/mt CFR China with hardly any transactions being concluded, traders said on Wednesday, December 17.
"Offers at present are mere indicators. No transactions are being concluded at these low levels," said an Orissa-based miner-exporter.
"Even small transaction volumes at current levels leave virtually no margins for us and we are not in a position to even conclude marginal transactions to maintain our presence in overseas markets. It is a despondent market now," he said.
The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), the representative body of miners in India, in a statement said that no iron ore export transactions have been concluded since early this month and overseas shipments will continue to be unviable at current international prices until such time as the Indian government decides to scrap the hefty 30 percent export tax.
Market sources said that, apart from exports shipments becoming unviable, buyers have all but pulled out of the market with no short-term bottom in sight, now that the $70/mt mark too has been breached. There has been a lot of talk in the market about offers hitting the next bottom of $60/mt, sources said.
At the same time, traders representing Chinese steel mills are reported to be once again facing a liquidity crisis and are not receiving credit from banks to conclude transactions for steel raw material re-stocking, sources added.