India: Iron ore concentrate prices remain stable, trade muted

Iron ore concentrate prices in Jabalpur remained stable this week amid rising prices of pellets and iron ore in Odisha.

SteelMint's index for Fe 63% concentrate prices currently stand at around INR 3,000/tonne (t) exw, stable as against the last assessment on 16 July. However, no active deals were reported among the current offers. Meanwhile, some offers were also heard at a lower INR 2,750/t exw.

Factors helping players to hold iron ore concentrate offers:

• Rise in pellet prices: SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, stood at INR 8,900/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 19 July 2022, up INR 100/t compared to the last assessment on 15 July. However, buyers were mostly silent due to increased offers and were waiting for some price correction in the upcoming days.
  
  
• Stable iron ore prices in Odisha: SteelMint's weekly Odisha iron ore fines index (Fe 62%) remained stable w-o-w at INR 3,500/t ex-mines. The market did not see trades taking place actively. Offers of iron ore lumps remained limited amidst weather constraints.
  
  
• Seasonal factors: With monsoons approaching, iron ore availability in India may remain tight which may support ore concentrate prices in the near term.
  
  

Outlook

Iron ore concentrate prices are likely to remain supported due to the approaching monsoon and significant recovery in pellet and iron ore prices.