As iron ore prices increase in the Chinese spot market and ocean freight rates decrease for the benefit of FOB quotations, iron ore prices in Brazil increased by an average of $2/mt on a weekly basis, following a six-week period of price reductions.
Sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are now traded for export from Brazil at $62/mt, the equivalent lumps at $74/mt and blast furnace grade pellets at $120/mt, FOB conditions.
In the Brazilian domestic market, the prices are now $56/mt for sinter feed fines, $68/mt for lumps and $114/mt for blast furnace grade pellets, ex-works, no taxes included.
Fresh numbers from the country’s ministry of industry, foreign trade and services, MDIC, indicate that iron ore (pellets excluded) exported from Brazil in March increased by 25 percent from February to 27.131 million mt.
The main destinations were Asia (21.124 million mt, of which 17.645 million mt to China), the EU (3.630 million mt), the Middle East (1.053 million mt), Latin America (747,000 mt) and Turkey (341,600 mt).
Under the same comparative basis, Brazilian pellet exports increased by 37.4 percent to 2.821 million mt.
The main destinations of pellet exports were the EU (813,400 mt), Asia (768,000 mt), Africa (499,300 mt), Latin America (358,000 mt) and the US (219,300 mt).