Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have continued to surge for the second consecutive week gaining $4.70/mt to $96.45/mt CFR China amid fresh fears of supply disruptions, traders said on Friday, May 17.
Market sources said that previous signs of tight supplies easing have faded with fresh reports of risks to Vale tailing dams in Brazil and, while such reports available in the market are still tentative, they have impacted sentiment, leading to a sharp rise in trading activity in the physical market.
The sources said that in the local market stocks available at aggregating traders particularly in the eastern state of Odisha have fallen to critical levels. The aggregating traders are still unable to replenish stocks from pitheads as the region is still reeling from the impact of the recent cyclone and electricity and road networks have yet to be normalized.
Amid the shortage of available stocks, traders representing Chinese steel mills have been unable to secure large-volume bookings, leading to offer levels hitting a recent high, the sources said.
“There is only sufficient stock availability on offer for low grade iron ore fines. Miners are finding it difficult to offer high volumes of high grade iron ore fines owing to logistical bottlenecks,” a Odisha-based miner-exporter said.
“With new reports suggesting the possibility of fresh disruptions in Brazilian supplies, the rising interest for high alumina-content Indian iron ore fines is expected to be sustained. Even factoring in possibilities of a mild short-term correction, offer levels could well breach the $100/mt mark as supply disruptions in the global market are becoming worse than feared earlier,” the miner-exporter added.