While the price of the ex-Brazil 65 percent iron ore remains in downtrend, along with other grades quoted in the Chinese spot market, the premium of such high-grade ore in relation to the 62 percent Australian ore, when comparing their iron units, remains in uptrend, reaching now 12.7 percent, against 11.6 percent one week ago.
It is the higher figure in one month, still reflecting the demand by integrated steel producers for the high performance of the product in blast furnaces, now emphasized by increased coal and coke prices in different world regions.
The price of the high-grade product is now $144/mt, against $155/mt one week ago, while the price of the blast furnace grade pellets is $177/mt, from $191/mt previously, CFR China conditions.
In the Brazilian domestic market, the prices are estimated now at $101/mt for the ore and $134/mt for the pellets, ex-works, no taxes included, against $114/mt and $150/mt, respectively, late last week.
In August, Brazil exported a combined 31.69 million mt of iron ore and pellets. Preliminary figures for September are pointing to a 10 percent reduction from August, when considering the volume exported on a per-day basis.