BigMint is a Market Intelligence and Price Reporting firm that caters to the data and analytics requirements of businesses in the commodities sector. It publishes real time prices and information, which is impartial, independent and reliable, sourced from all industry interfaces – sellers, buyers, agents and traders. This data is filtered and passed through very stringent, calculative assessments before final prices are derived, thereby giving our clients accurate pricing.

Go to List

India: Odisha iron ore fines index largely stable w-o-w amid slow market activity

...

Fines/Lumps

BigMint Bureau

220 Reads

8 Jun 2024, 15:38 IST

India: Odisha iron ore fines index largely stable w-o-w amid slow market activity

BigMint's Odisha iron ore fines (Fe62%) index inched down by INR 50/t ($1/t) w-o-w to INR 5,450/t ($65/t) ex-mines on 8 June, 2024. No deals for Fe62% fines were recorded this week amid weak market sentiments. Trading activities slowed down this week; however, a buyer booked around 50,000 t of fines (Fe 60%) in this publishing window.

The Odisha iron ore market remained largely stable this week amid the parliamentary and state elections. No major trading activity was witnessed in the region as buyers were away from the market. Major merchant miners kept their offers stable in this publishing window.

A buyer from Odisha said that buying interest was sluggish in the region while offers issued by miners remained stable this week as they are expecting that pre-monsoon restocking has not been completed yet. Market participants expect that trades will return to normal and buyers may book the remaining quantity of their restocking demand ahead of the monsoons.

Trade volumes decreased this week as 400,000 t of iron ore was traded in Odisha while this week market participants recorded only 50.000 t of deals under slow market sentiments.

Rationale:

T1- One deal was recorded in this publishing window but not taken for price computation. These were given 0% weightage for index calculation.

T2- BigMint received twenty- three (23) offers and indicative prices under T2 trade deals in this publishing window. Nineteen (19) were taken into consideration and given 100% weightage. To check BigMint's iron ore assessment, pricing methodology, and specification document Click here

Market highlights:

Pellet offers fall w-o-w: Pellet (6-20 mm, Fe 62.5%) prices in Odisha's Barbil decreased by INR 750/t w-o-w. The current assessment stands at INR 8,700/t ($103/t) loaded to wagon. Pellet (Fe 62.5%, 6-20 mm) prices in Durgapur decreased by INR 250/t ($3/t) w-o-w to INR 9,700/t ($118/t) exw on 7 June. Meanwhile, BigMint's India pellet (Fe 63%, 3% Al) export index (FOB east coast) significantly dropped by $13/t w-o-w at $96/t on 5 June.

Fines export prices decline $10/t w-o-w: BigMint's weekly Indian low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index fell sharply by $9.5/t w-o-w to $57/tonne (t) FOB east coast on 6 June 2024. No active deals were witnessed this week as exporters remained sidelined in a declining market. Prices have fallen significantly, with an exporter from Odisha selling 55,000 t of Fe57% iron ore fines at $80/t towards the end of last week. Fe 54% fines export price indications were at around $59-60/t CFR China.

Sponge iron prices down in Rourkela: BigMint's assessment for sponge iron C-DRI (FeM 80%) prices in Rourkela fell INR 700/t ($9/t) w-o-w to INR 29,600/t ($356/t) on 8 June. Meanwhile, steel billet (100*100 mm) prices in Rourkela dropped by INR 150/t ($2/t) w-o-w to INR 43,250/t ($517/t) today.

Outlook

Iron ore offers in Odisha are expected to remain supported next week with the expectation of improvement in trading volumes. However, buyers are yet to complete their restocking for monsoon.