Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have failed to hold on to their mid-week high in a volatile market and have edged down marginally by $0.50/mt over the past week to $70/mt CFR China as buyers have been quick to retreat at higher levels, traders said on Friday, March 16.
“Buyers moved in quickly to conclude transactions of modest volumes at the sub-$70/mt mark during the week. But the mid-week rise to levels of about $72.50/mt mark was not sustained as buyers were clearly in no mood to stay in the market at such higher levels,” an Odisha-based miner-exporter said.
“It seemed that traders representing Chinese steel mills were bargain-hunting perceiving the market to have bottomed out below the $70/mt mark, but, as their transactions supported offer levels they were quick to retreat, leading to volatility in the market,” the miner-exporter added.
At least two other traders pointed out that the initial rise in offers was triggered by reports received in India that inventories at Chinese steel mills were much lower than expected, but then offers started to soften as doubts surfaced over these reports on steel inventories.
“Ever since the Chinese holiday last month, the Indian market has shown no definite trend in either direction, which is an indication that the fundamentals of the finished steel market are still very tentative.
Given the movement in both directions, most aggregating traders are staying away in order to avoid volatility and only a few miner-exporters have been able to conclude transactions over the past few weeks,” the traders added.