Indian export offers for high grade iron ore fines (with Fe content of 63.5 percent and higher) have increased by $1/mt during the past week to $75/mt CFR China, but market sentiments have remained negative as the marginal increase came amid very thin volumes, traders said on Friday, February 2.
“Offer levels remained under pressure for most part of the week and only recovered on the last day,” an Odisha based miner-exporter said.
“The major negative has been the sharp fall in the number of buyers present in the market and even those receiving offers did not respond with any significant transaction,” he added.
Despite the marginal recovery on the last day of the week, at least two other traders said that market activity is expected to dip further over the coming days and current offers to creep lower as the gains in finished steel prices and futures contracts are too tentative and are likely to taper off as the Chinese market closes down for the holiday.
Overall there is a negative bias in the market and, with some market participants expecting a sub- $70/mt mark as the next bottom, few buyers are willing to conclude any significant transaction in the short term, the traders added.