India: Iron ore concentrate offers rise INR 550/t post-NMDC's price revision

Iron ore concentrate prices in Jabalpur, central India, witnessed a significant increase this week following NMDC's recent announcement of a hike in iron ore prices.

SteelMint's assessment for Fe 63% concentrate prices currently stands at around INR 4,300/tonne (t) exw, a rise of INR 550/t as against the last assessment on 31 December, 2022. However, trades are yet to pick up as no active deals have been reported at current offers.

Reasons for hike in iron ore concentrate prices-

• NMDC's price hike: India's largest merchant iron ore mining company, NMDC, increased the list prices of iron ore recently. The company raised prices of lump ores by up to INR 500-600/t and fines by INR 500/t, effective from 1 January 2023. NMDC fixed prices for lump iron ore (65.5%, 6-40mm) at INR 4,600/t, DR CLO (Fe 67%, 10-40mm) at INR 5,520/t and iron fines (64% - 10mm) at INR 3,410/t (FoR prices from Bacheli complex, excluding royalty, DMF and NMET).
  
  
• Hike in pellet prices w-o-w: SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellets (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, stood at INR 9,650/t DAP Raipur, a w-o-w rise of INR 175/t on 30 December, 2022.
  
  
• Odisha iron ore prices remain supported: SteelMint's weekly Odisha iron ore fines (Fe 62%) index remained unchanged last weekend at INR 4,500/t ex-mines (including royalty, DMF, and NMET). Market participants reported limited trade activities this week amidst pending deliveries of previous bookings due to rake availability issues. Also, pellets prices in eastern India remained range-bound throughout the week, which is another factor behind the stability in Odisha's iron ore prices.
  
  

Outlook

Iron ore concentrate prices are less likely to fall in the near term owing to supportive iron ore market sentiments, SteelMint understands. However, buying interest at current offers could be a deciding factor.