Premiums paid for higher-quality iron ore cargoes should be supported by the current uptrend in steel prices and by higher ore demand from China, Vale's chief financial officer, Luciano Siani, told investors in a conference call on Friday May 10.
The higher prices that customers were traditionally willing to pay for top-grade ores declined during the first quarter of 2019. More recently, steel prices and raw material demand have gone up, and the commercial environment was supportive of higher premiums, the CFO added.Vale saw premiums at $10.70 per tonne in January-March, compared with $11.50 per tonne in the last three months of...