Prices for seaborne iron ore pellets edged up in the week ended Friday October 30 with demand being stimulated by sintering restrictions and costlier coke in China, while those for concentrate weakened.
Fastmarkets iron ore indices
66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $126.39 per tonne, down $4.33 per tonne.
65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $150.55 per tonne, up $1.58 per tonne.
Key drivers
Apart from production curbs to reduce emissions that are in place during the October-March autumn-winter heating season, such as sintering restrictions in the Tangshan region, emergency measures made in response to severe air pollution beginning October 23 were still in place last week. These further restricted sintering activity in Tangshan.
Sources said these measures supported pellet consumption among mills and weighed on demand for concentrate.
Trading activity for pellets at Chinese ports has also been much higher than that for concentrate, they said.
A buyer source in...