Limited demand continues to pull high-grade iron ore prices down

Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices fell during the week to Friday July 15 amid limited demand from steelmakers, market sources said

Key drivers

Demand for high-grade iron ore remained limited, with most mills still focused on consuming low- to mid-grade iron ore fines to manage production costs, market sources told Fastmarkets.

“Currently, several mills are either voluntarily cutting steel production or placing blast furnace units on maintenance because steel margins have narrowed a fair bit,” a northern China mill source said.

The source added that some mills have been facing tight margins since April and have adopted cost-saving strategies, such as restructuring manpower headcounts, to lower operations costs.

Shipments of both iron ore concentrate and pellet into China have been very limited. At the Chinese ports, inventory for both high-grade iron ore products has been building, indicating poor demand, a Hong Kong-based trader said.

“Domestic Chinese demand for higher-grade iron ore has been under pressure from falling steel prices. This is reflected in rising inventory levels of incoming cargoes of iron ore concentrate, as well as iron ore pellet,” a mill source in southern China told Fastmarkets.

Mills operating with negative margins are unlikely to consider procuring more cargoes. Some have implemented a suspension of further raw material procurement until prices in the iron ore market stabilize, the same source added.

A Beijing-based mill source told Fastmarkets that while premiums for iron ore concentrates have been significantly lower in recent weeks, importers are not likely to seek further cargoes in the absence of domestic demand.

“Seaborne activity for iron ore pellet has been largely muted. Both buyers and sellers have refused to absorb the 50% tariff imposed on cargoes exported out of India,” a Singapore-based trader said.

High-grade iron ore pellet from Ukraine is unlikely to be shipped to China because suppliers like Ferrexpo still encounter difficulties moving cargoes from its ports along the Black Sea. This is largely due to limited logistics caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Singapore-based trader added.

Fastmarkets iron ore indices

66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $123.12 per tonne, down $13.84 per tonne

65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $146.84 per tonne, down $10.01 per tonne

Iron ore pellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China: $29.30 per tonne, down $1.70 per tonne

Trades/offers/bids heard in the market

Concentrate
No visible activity.

Pellet
No visible activity.

Norman Fong and Paul Lim in Singapore contributed to this report.

What to read next
China’s push for greener ferro-alloy production has revealed a significant divide between its northern and southern regions due to contrasting access to clean energy, supply and demand dynamics and regulatory environments, according to market participants.
Nickel pig iron (NPI) is a key feedstock material used for stainless steel production, and the CIF has grown to become one of the mainstream trading methods for the Chinese market. The proposed price assessment will allow Fastmarkets to bring more transparency to the Chinese NPI market. Fastmarkets has been tracking spot and DDP China […]
The publication of the affected prices was delayed for 50 minutes. The following indices were published late: MB-MNO-0001 Manganese ore high grade index, cif Tianjin, $ per dmtu MB-MNO-0002 Manganese ore semi carbonate index, 36.5% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth, $/dmtu MB-MNO-0003 Manganese ore semi carbonate index, 36.5% Mn, cif Tianjin, $/dmtu These prices are a part of the […]
The purpose of this review is to ensure that the index continues to accurately reflect prevailing market conditions. We welcome feedback from industry participants on potential amendments to the base specification. This consultation, which is open until August 9, 2025 seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in […]
Charcoal-based pig iron can potentially support decarbonization strategies in the EU, despite not being widely used in the region, delegates were told at Fastmarkets' International Iron Ore & Green Steel Summit, held June 17-19 in Barcelona.
Following an initial consultation with the market and a review of the typical data sets that have been collected over recent months, Fastmarkets is proposing changes to the specifications of the index for MB-IRO-0009 iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao, by raising the silica base specification to 2.7% from 2.2%, as well as an […]