Iron ore prices in the Chinese spot market trended roughly stable over the past week, reaching $199/mt for the Brazilian sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents, CFR China quotation, little changed from $200/mt last week.
During the period, the premium for lumps was stable and the premium for pellets has increased, while ocean freight rates have shown a small decline. Market sources unveiled expectations that the premium for pellets is expected to increase further over the next few months.
Lumps prices for export have reached $228/mt and blast furnace grade pellets have reached $248/mt, under the same conditions, compared to $229/mt and $246/mt, respectively, last week.
In the Brazilian domestic market, sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are quoted at $175/mt, lumps at $204/mt and pellets at $225/mt, ex-works, no taxes included, compared to $177/mt, $206/mt, and $223/mt, respectively, last week.
Sources mentioned that high yet stable prices for steel products continue to support the current high level of iron ore prices, among the highest in historical terms, benefiting also from the risk of undersupply by problems with Vale operations and by producers in Australia.
In February, Brazil exported 24.05 million mt of combined iron ore and pellets, against 28.71 million mt in January, a decline reflecting not only the reduced number of working days in February, but also an 8.2 percent decline on a per-day basis, reflecting operational problems in both North and Southeast mining areas of Vale.