Ex-India pellet prices slumped to a three-month low, reacting to fall in iron ore demand and price in China, and no confirmed deals have been reported over the past week on further widening of bid-offer disparity, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Friday, April 21.
Ex-India pellet price dropped by $3/mt to $115-120/mt CFR China, and high-grade pellet with combined silica-alumina content of less than 3 percent were voiced at $122/mt CFR, but no deals could be confirmed in the market.
Sources said that one Odisha based pellet producer was heard to have concluded a deal for 30,000 mt at $121/mt CFR, although this information was not confirmed by the seller or trade circles.
“Even adverse weather conditions in Australia and some disruptions in supply chain failed to improve sentiments, largely because of sufficient imported stocks in China,” a member of Pellet Manufacturers’ Association of India (PMAI) said.
“We hear that steel prices are improving in China. But it is very slow and margins are still under pressure and mills still cautious in using higher price pellets as feedstock. There are a lot of talk of government control over raw materials prices and hence bids are as low as $105-110/mt which are unviable for sellers,” he added.