A source from a major slab producer told SteelOrbis that the company paid less for iron ore products during April: prices for the month were $38.81/mt, CFR no taxes included, for sinter feed fines and $39.84/mt for lumps (same conditions), reflecting decrease of 6.9 percent and 39.8 percent, respectively, from the averages of March.
According to the source, the decline reflects not only the downward trend of iron ore prices in the international market, but also punctual differences in the ore quality during the period.
He mentioned that the price paid for pellets in April, $62.74/mt CFR no taxes included, is only 0.8 percent lower than the average price of March, ascribing the relative stability of price to the homogeneous quality of the product and to the resilience of the price: “Small tonnages of pellets are always needed for the operation of blast furnaces, while for DRI plants pellets are the basic raw material,” he added.
According to the Brazilian ministry of development, industry and foreign trade, MDIC, in April the country exported 23.84 million mt of iron ore (pellets excluded) at $33/mt FOB and 4.90 million mt of pellets at $76/mt FOB.
In March, Vale sold 923,000 mt of iron ore and 987,000 mt of pellets in the Brazilian domestic market, according to the local iron ore association Sinferbase.