Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have edged down by around $2/mt during the past week to $63/mt CFR China and even signs of a mild recovery have failed to make up for the declines seen during the week, traders said on Friday, October 13.
“Offers showed signs of a rebound on the last day of the week, riding on the revival of interest in the futures market. But this was not strong enough to offset losses during the week in the physical market,” an Odisha-based miner-exporter said.
“The outlook remains negative for the fact that there has been no significant uptick in physical buying, once the resumption of business after the national holiday in China indicated that the Chinese steel mills are not keen to restock aggressively,” an Odisha-based miner-exporter said.
“The Indian market apprehends that Chinese steel mills’ raw material demand will fall further in view of imposed production cuts. The Chinese steel mills are more than satisfied with sourcing raw materials from port stocks and are generally staying away from seaborne cargoes,” the miner-exporter added.
At least two other traders opined that Indian offers are expected to move sideways in the short term as the key drivers of the market, production levels and finished steel price directions, are uncertain.