Chinese steelmakers' changing appetites for high-quality iron-ore blast furnace pellets prompted further developments in the transparency and maturity of the pellet segment, Fastmarkets understands.
The iron ore pellet segment has long been touted as the hardest to commoditize, primarily due to differences in product valuations between different global steelmaking hubs, sources said. Most term contracts between buyers and sellers, therefore, used to be settled annually, before evolving to a quarterly negotiation about a year ago.The structural shift toward cleaner and greener steelmaking, however, prompted coastal mills - particularly in China - to increasingly seek out high-quality iron ore pellets on a spot basis. The increased spot availability of such products due to subdued demand from more...