With increased prices in the Chinese spot market, coupled with stable premium for lumps and pellets, and also stable ocean freight rates, iron prices in Brazil have increased on a weekly basis.
Sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are now negotiated at $107/mt, equivalent lumps at $119/mt and blast furnace grade pellets at $133/mt, against last week’s levels of $102/mt, $114/mt and $129/mt, respectively, all CFR China conditions, dry basis.
In the Brazilian domestic market, such prices are now, respectively, $79/mt, $91/mt and $105/mt, comparable with $74/mt, $86/mt and $100/mt last week, ex-works conditions, wet basis, no taxes included.
In April, Brazil exported 22,76 million mt of iron ore (pellets excluded) and 1.24 million mt of pellets, comparable respectively with 19.84 million mt and 1.87 million mt in March. The main driver for the increased volume of iron ore exported was the Chinese demand, with 15.90 million mt, 18 percent more than in March.
Total shipments to Asian countries have reached 19.76 million mt, followed by Europe (1.63 million mt) and the Middle East (1.29 million mt), while small volumes were shipped to Uruguay and Argentina.
The main destinations of the pellets were China (500,000 mt), South Korea (220,000 mt), the US (170,000 mt) and Egypt (160,000 mt), while small volumes were shipped to Trinidad and Tobago, Japan and Argentina.