With higher prices in the Chinese spot market and slightly increased ocean freight rates, iron ore prices in Brazil have increased in average by $6/mt week-on-week.
Sinter feed fines of 65 percent iron contents are estimated to be traded for export from Brazil at $77/mt, the equivalent lumps at $101/mt and blast furnace grade pellets at $143/mt, FOB conditions.
In the Brazilian domestic market, for equivalent ores, the prices are $70/mt for sinter feed fines, $94/mt for lumps and $136/mt for blast furnace grade pellets, ex-works, no taxes included.
Iron ore prices continue to vacillate on news of reduced production at the miner Vale, alternating with other news about increased production in mines located in different areas.
In March, Brazil exported 20.22 million mt of iron ore (pellets excluded), against 26.66 million mt in February. Pellet exports in March reached 1.96 million mt, against 2.26 million mt in February.
The downturn does not reflect Vale’s problems in the state of Minas Gerais, where the Brumadinho dam disaster occurred, as the volume of iron ore produced in the state and exported in March is roughly the same of February, while exports from the State of Para, in the north of Brazil, have declined by 40 percent from February to March.
The main destinations of the iron ore in March were Asia (15.57 million mt, of which 12.26 million mt to China), the EU (1.89 million mt) and the Middle East (1.75 million mt).
For pellets, the main destinations were Africa (506,800 mt), Asia (501,400 mt), the EU (262,700 mt) and the Middle East (164,500 mt).