SteelMint: India low-grade iron ore fines export index falls amid China demand slowdown

SteelMint's weekly index for India's low-grade iron ore fines (Fe 57%) exports stood at $55/t FOB east coast, down $6/t w-o-w.

Outbreak of a new variant of COVID-19 in China's prominent cities such as Beijing and Shanghai weighed on sentiment for iron ore and steel over the past few days. Also, drop-in swaps have weighed on bids from China.

Price indicators:

• One deal was reported so far this week, but due to price disparity it was not taken into price calculation under T1 trade and given no weightage in index calculation. Click here for methodology.
  
  
• SteelMint received ten (10) indicative prices, bids and offers in the current publishing window and eight (08) were considered for price calculation as T2 inputs and given 100% weightage.
  
  

Traders are looking for numbers as low as $70/t CFR China for Indian origin Fe 57% fines, but Indian players are still eyeing for $82-85/t CFR China. Thus, amidst bid-offer disparities, no deal was reported this week.

Market highlights:

• Fe 62% spot iron ore prices down $9/t w-o-w: The spot price of benchmark iron ore (Fe 62%) fines decreased $9/t w-o-w to $140.45/t CFR China on 27 April, 2022 as against $149.8/t a week ago. Seaborne iron ore prices plummeted as spreading coronavirus infections in China clouded demand outlook.
  
  
• DCE iron ore futures sharply decrease on week: DCE iron ore futures' September contract closed at RMB 851.5/t ($129/t) on 28 April, 2022, sharply decreased by RMB 52.5/t ($8/t) compared with the previous week. Iron ore and steel futures fell due to growing concerns in the market about slump in domestic demand for steelmaking raw materials as the pandemic spreads across China. However, on a daily basis, prices up by around RMB 25/t ($4/t).
  
  
• Port inventories in China inch down: Iron ore inventory at major Chinese ports inched down to 148.6 mnt on 21 April, 2022 compared to 152.9 mnt last week, as per SteelHome data.