Ex-India pellet prices slipped as buyers from China took a pause, while sellers also eased off floating fresh offers and focused on delivering previous bookings, resulting in subdued trading activity, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Friday, July 31.
Sources said that ex-India pellet price fell by $2/mt to a range of $114-116/mt CFR China, with the highest end of the range applicable to high grades with silica-alumina content of less than three percent.
According to the sources, buyers are reported to have deferred negotiations on volumes offered earlier, preferring to await some cooling in the market. At the same time, sellers facing tight supplies amid logistical challenges in securing iron ore fines owing to monsoon rains were focusing on dispatching already booked volumes.
Stray bids received in anticipation of a correction were reported at $110-114/mt CFR, but sellers, already with limited exportable volumes, were refraining from pushing sales overseas.
“Currently, export realizations are about INR 300/mt ($3/mt) lower on ex-plant basis than domestic sales. With supplies tight, producers are preferring to service domestic customers,” a member of the Pellet Manufacturers' Association of India (PMAI) said.
“Divergent expectations—buyers anticipating a correction and sellers a rebound—will keep the market range-bound in the short term. Both are awaiting the next price trend to emerge,” he added.
