Ex-India pellet prices have edged up over the past week in reaction to increases in local prices of fines and increased enquiries from buyers representing mills in China, but no deals have been confirmed in the market as bids were still on the lower side and not acceptable to sellers, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Friday, July 11.
Sources said that ex-India pellet price increased by $1/mt to the range of $101-105/mt CFR China, with the price at the upper end applicable for higher grade pellets with silica-alumina content less than three percent.
Leading pellet producers said that an increased number of enquiries was reported in the market but, with buyers still seeking deals at lower levels of around $98-100/mt CFR, no deals have been done during the past week.
According to the sources, buyers representing mills in China were mostly seeking higher grade pellets, but bids at $100/mt CFR for such quality were not being accepted by most sellers and deals could work out only if such bids for higher grade improved to levels of $104-105/mt CFR.
“The positive development is the higher number of active enquiries seen in the market. But these are not being translated to contracts as bids are still not good enough. Domestic realisations are still about $10/mt better than overseas sales on ex-plant basis,” a member of the Pellet Manufacturers’ Association of India (PMAI) said.