The recent recovery in the Indian pellet export market has been reversed, with prices suffering setbacks amid the quick end to the restocking by mills in China seen last week, and weak finished steel prices beginning to weigh on raw material demand once again, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Friday, August 16.
Ex-India pellet prices have fallen by around $7/mt to the range of $102-105/mt CFR as buyers retreated from the market, having completed restocking after large-volume deals early in the month and also given the negative outlook on demand in the wake of the fresh round of declines in finished steel prices in China and with some mills there going into maintenance shutdowns.
Sources said that stray bids received were at levels of around $98-100/mt CFR, which were rejected by local sellers since local demand and realizations continued to be better.
“Some mills in China have brought forward maintenance shutdowns. This led to a reassessment of raw material demand and the early halt of restocking. Local sellers are also stopping offers, unwilling to accept low bids. We will wait for a few days before deciding to submit revised bids or not,” a member of the Pellet Manufacturers’ Association of India (PMAI) said.
“We hear port-side stocks in China are down by around 1 million mt. But this will not have an impact on demand or on the possibility of resumption of fresh bookings, as volumes available at ports are still sufficient to meet demand for lower steel output,” he said.