With lower quotations in the Chinese spot market, coupled with stable premium for lumps and pellets and reduced ocean freight rates, iron ore export prices in Brazil have declined in average by $3/mt from last week, after having increased over the previous two weeks by a total of $9/mt.
Sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are now traded for export from Brazil at $119/mt, the equivalent lumps at $127/mt and the equivalent blast furnace grade pellets at $133/mt, all CFR China conditions, dry basis, against respectively $122/mt, $130/mt and $136/mt last week.
But with declining ocean freight rates, positively affecting FOB quotations in Brazil, the domestic prices remained stable from last week at respectively $93/mt, $100/mt and 107/mt, dry basis, ex-works conditions, no taxes included.
Preliminary indications from customs are now pointing to a combined export volume of iron ore and pellets in July increasing from the 30.05 million mt exported from Brazil in June.