Ex-India pellet prices have entered a new downtrend over the past week amid combined pressures of softening global iron ore fines prices and buyers’ resistance resulting in silent trade conditions, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Friday, November 7.
Sources said that ex-India pellet prices have declined by $3-5/mt to the range of $118-122/mt CFR China with offers at the higher end of the range applicable for high grades with silica-alumina content less than three percent.
However, no significant trade has been reported over the past week with buyers retreating and sellers also holding back offers as both export and local sales prices have been softening in tandem.
Local pellet prices have also softened, with leading producers like Jindal SAW Limited and others dropping prices by a range of INR 300-500/mt ($3-6/mt). This narrowed down the differential between export and domestic prices, prompting sellers to hold back offers and wait for market stability.
“Hopes of prices hitting the $130/mt CFR level have been nipped by the market, hit by a correction based on the weakening of fines prices globally - this at a time when miners in Odisha increased fines prices for local merchant sales. Current levels are not attractive for sellers. Only a few port-based plants can find it viable to sell at today’s price. But there are no buyers now as they are expecting further declines,” a member of the Pellet Manufacturers’ Association of India (PMAI) said.