India: NMDC hikes iron ore prices by INR 300/t ($4/t)

India's largest merchant iron ore mining company, NMDC, increased list prices of iron ore today, SteelMint learnt from reliable sources. The company raised prices of DR-CLO and fines by INR 300/tonne (t), effective from 14 September, 2023.

The miner fixed prices of DR CLO (10-40mm, Fe67%) at INR 6,270/t and those of iron ore fines (-10mm, Fe64%) at INR 4,210/t (on FoR basis from Bacheli complex). Prices include royalty, DMF and NMET charges.

Factors impacting NMDC's prices:

Rake movements from NMDC Chhattisgarh rise 18% m-o-m in August 23: NMDC dispatched 365 (1.4 mnt) iron ore rakes from Chhattisgarh in August 2023. That is a jump of 18% as against 310 rakes (1.19 mnt) in July, according to the rakes movement data maintained with SteelMint.

Odisha iron ore fines prices rise after dropping in Aug: SteelMint's Odisha iron ore fines (Fe62%) index fell around INR 250/t m-o-m in August and was recorded at a monthly average of INR 4,300/t ex-mines. However, the index increased to INR 4,550/t in mid-September amidst limited offers for high grade ore in the merchant market due to monsoons.

Domestic pellet prices firm up: SteelMint's domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, increased by INR 300/t and was recorded at a monthly average of INR 9,240/t DAP Raipur in August. However, the index increased to INR 10,125/t till mid-September. Active restocking, pending dispatches of previous orders raised supply concerns in Central India, resulting in a hike in the offers.

Indian pellet exports inch up in Aug: India's iron ore and pellets exports dropped 9% to 2.87 million tonnes (mnt) in August 2023 against 3.12 (mnt) in July 2023. However, pellets saw a 3% rise though iron ore exports decreased by around 12% m-o-m to 2.11 mnt in August against 2.39 mnt in July. Pellets exports rose by 3% m-o-m to 752,404 t in August compared to July's 727,411 t.

Indian mills lift finished steel prices for Sept: India's prominent flat steel manufacturers increased their list prices of hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) coils in early-September. The quantum of increase for HRCs was INR 1,250/t whereas CRCs were raised by INR 1,750/t, SteelMint learned from industry sources.