The direct-reduced (DR) iron pellet premium has reduced in contracts for shipments in the first quarter 2020 mainly on a weak scrap market and pessimistic buyer mood, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets' assessment of the iron ore DR-grade pellet premium, Middle East reference was $31 per tonne on Friday January 31, down from $39 per tonne on December 31."The scrap market's weak again and it's still more cost effective for us to use as much scrap as possible substituting DRI [which needs DR pellet as a feedstock] in steel melting," one steel producer in the Middle East and North Africa (the...