Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets fell in the week ended Friday November 12, mainly due to decreasing steel mill margins, sources said.
Fastmarkets iron ore indices
66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $111.03 per tonne, down $6.70 per tonne.
65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $164.14 per tonne, down $5.55 per tonne.
Iron ore pellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China: $52.30 per tonne, down $3.40 per tonne.
Key drivers
Chinese steel mill margin continued to fall last week and some mills were even suffering from negative margins, due to the overall depressed demand for iron ore, a trading source in Singapore said.
Hot metal production fell under narrowing margins, which reduced demand for iron ore concentrate and pellet, with mills using more lower-grade iron ore to reduce costs, he added.
A trading source in Shanghai said that, despite the large up-and-down fluctuations in iron ore futures values,...