Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have edged down by $2/mt during the past week to $66/mt CFR China, maintaining their negative trend with buyers continuing to retreat from the market, traders said on Friday, September 29.
“On a few days of the week, the market showed signs of reversing the falling trend but the marginal gains of the day were soon wiped off the next day as there was no positive support for offer levels,” an Odisha-based miner-exporter said.
“The outlook persists to be negative as there are a lot of uncertainties over production cuts by Chinese steel mills which can only further slowdown restocking and hence traders representing these mills are largely absent from the Indian market,” the miner-exporter added.
Market sources said that the long holidays ahead in China for National Day have also resulted in very few buyers being active in the Indian market, further aggravating the low activity.
At least two other traders said that, without any support from the demand side, Indian offers are expected to come under fresh supply-side pressures, as more mines in Odisha and Goa start to increase production with the monsoon rains receding and with the festival holidays ending later next week.
Market participants are unsure of the next bottom with a section of market players even forecasting a low of $60-62/mt, and so buyers are unlikely to conclude transactions for any significant volumes until offers settle down, the traders added.