Prices for seaborne iron ore pellets softened in the week ended Friday August 28 on reduced demand but those for concentrate edged up.
Fastmarkets iron ore indices
66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $131.87 per tonne, up $1.87 per tonne.
65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $138.17 per tonne, down $1.10 per tonne.
Key drivers
Few mills bought seaborne pellets last week, which kept inventory levels at Chinese ports high, according to trading sources. They said this was due to steelmakers' preference for blending high-grade fines with low-grade products at the moment to lower their input costs.
An analyst in Shanghai noted that Chinese ports had more than 10 million tonnes of pellets last week, which compare with typical levels of 7-8 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, prices for seaborne concentrate prices experienced a slight uptick, which several...