The price of the Brazilian 65 percent iron contents is $128/metric ton (mt), CFR China, against $129/mt one week ago.
Blast furnace grade pellets are now exported at $146/mt, against $147/mt previously, showing a stable premium over same-grade sinter feed fines.
The premium for Brazilian high-grade ore containing 65 percent iron, relative to Australian ore with 62 percent iron, declined to 10.5 percent from the previous 10.6 percent, when considering the iron units, still reflecting a relative scarcity of the product.
In the first three weeks of March, Brazil exported an average of 860,000 mt of combined iron ore and pellets per day in the first week, 746,000 mt in the second, and 838,000 mt in the third. These figures are significantly below the 2025 daily average of 1.14 million mt, indicating that supplies may tighten and prices for Brazilian special grade ore could increase next month.
Furthermore, the Brazilian miner Vale is reducing the availability of high grade ore shipped to the Asian markets, as an alternative to reducing production costs and achieving a higher margin, despite the lower sales price.
In the Brazilian domestic market, reference prices are now $96/mt for the ore and $114/mt for pellets, against respectively $100/mt and $119/mt previously, ex-works, no taxes included.