The price of the 65 percent iron sinter feed fines of Brazil has reached $224/mt, CFR China conditions, against $222/mt on May 24.
Between these two dates, the price has increased to $229/mt and declined to $215/mt, in a fluctuating pattern that reflects the effect of recent recommendations by Chinese authorities to refrain from speculative activities with the price of commodities, referring mainly to investors in iron ore futures. Market fundamentals are also playing a role, including reduced demand in the seaborne iron ore market.
The Brazilian high-grade ore maintains a premium of 12 percent over the Australian 62 percent iron contents, when considering the iron units of these ores. It is a high figure, reflecting the demand for products that are processed with lower emissions in blast furnaces.
This includes the Brazilian pellets, which today are estimated to be traded at $287/mt, CFR China conditions, also a high price in historical terms, while prices for lumps, a product used as direct charge in blast furnaces, avoiding the emissions associated to the sintering process, are estimated at $257/mt, under the same conditions.
In the Brazilian domestic market, the prices of such products are estimated at $190/mt for sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron, $224/mt for equivalent lumps and $254/mt for blast furnace grade pellets, all ex-works, no taxes included.