The price of the Brazilian high-grade ore, 65 percent iron contents, declined to $111/mt from $114/mt on Nov. 2, CFR China conditions, the lowest value since May 2020.
Over the week, the prices have maintained an oscillating pattern, with a peak of $117/mt, under the same conditions. The decline is still ascribed by sources to a combination of factors, chiefly additional steelmaking production cuts in northern China, negatively affecting iron ore prices.
Similarly, the price of the Brazilian blast furnace grade pellet is now $158/mt, against $161/mt previously, under the same conditions.
The premium of the high-grade ore, in relation to the 62 percent iron Australian ore, is now 13.5 percent, little changed from 13.4 percent previously, a level reflecting the high demand for its performance in blast furnaces.
In the Brazilian domestic market, iron ore prices are estimated at $62/mt for the ore and $109/mt for the pellets, ex-works, no taxes included, against $63/mt and $110/mt previously, respectively.
In October, Brazil exported a combined volume of iron ore and pellets of 30.86 million mt, against 33.68 million mt in September. The decline reportedly reflects the strategy “Value Over Volume” adopted by the miner Vale, focused on the production of higher quality iron ore products, rather than high volumes.