Prices for seaborne iron ore pellets and concentrate strengthened again in the week ended Friday November 13 amid of a recovery in demand ahead of an approaching winter in China and fewer cargoes of the former being supplied to the East Asian country, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets iron ore indices
66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $132.50 per tonne, up $4.84 per tonne.
65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $157.72 per tonne, up $7.01 per tonne.
Key drivers
Sources said pellet prices kept rising due to a drop in the number of such cargoes being sold to China in the seaborne market.
Pellet inventory levels at Chinese ports fell further during the week, which indicates strong demand. An analyst in Shanghai said that there was a shortage of Indian and Ukrainian pellets at the ports.
But Brazilian materials appear to be sufficient due to higher shipments from Brazil, he noted.
India's pellet exports have been very scarce recently because of better prices fetched in the country's domestic market on stronger demand...