India: Iron ore concentrate prices drop marginally, buyers eye correction in near term

• Buyers look for further decline in prices
  
  
• Recovery in pellet offers may support prices
  
  

Iron ore concentrate prices in Jabalpur, central India, remained range-bound this week. Notably, bids have witnessed a drop in recently concluded deals.

BigMint's bi-weekly index for Fe 63% concentrate currently stands at INR 4,500/t ($54/t) exw, a marginal drop of INR 50/t ($1/t) as against the last assessment on 6 April.

Some bids from the buyers' side were also heard at lower levels of INR 4,200/t exw ($50/t). However, no trades were reported at the mentioned level.

"We have received offers at the level of INR 4,500/t exw ($54/t), however, our bids stand at INR 4,200/t exw ($50/t)," said a Maharashtra-based buyer.

Rationale:

• Three (3) trades amounting to a total of 50,000 t were recorded in this publishing window and all were considered under T1 trade and were accorded with 50% weightage.
  
  
• Ten (10) offers, bid and indicative prices were reported, out of which, eight (8) were taken into consideration as T2 trades, receiving 50% weightage.
  
  

Meanwhile, BigMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index remained stable at INR 9,600/t DAP ($115/t) Raipur on 9 April 2024 compared to the last assessment on 5 April. Pellet offers in Raipur remained stable this week and moderate deals were recorded in the region. Most buyers had already booked decent quantities last week amid sharp increase in sponge iron and finished steel prices. Meanwhile, bids from a few buyers were INR 500/t ($6/t) lower than offers floated by suppliers this week.

Outlook

Iron ore concentrate offers are expected to remain under pressure as bids by buyers have dropped amid price cut expectations in recent deals. However, recovery in pellet and iron ore prices might provide some support to iron ore concentrate offers.