Published by:Norman Fong<>
25 Apr 2025 @ 11:28 UTC

Seaborne pellet premiums continued to fall in the week ending Friday April 25, despite limited activity in the market. Offers for pellet cargoes from regional markets such as India and Australia were made against limited bids from end users, sources told Fastmarkets.
Key drivers Trading in the seaborne market was limited amid poor import demand from Chinese end users.
Various offers for April- and May-loading cargoes were heard in the seaborne market, but bids from buyers were significantly lower.
The reality is that portside demand for iron ore pellets is simply too poor for end users to even consider importing from the seaborne market, a trader in Shanghai said. The cost of using pellet cargoes to steelmakers remains exceptionally high, especially in contrast with the use of larger volumes of coke with sinter fines.
Domestic coke prices have remained at low levels since October 2024 due to steady supply from Mongolia, rising by only 50-55 yuan ($7-8) per tonne in first half April in line with a recovery in steelmaking margins.
Despite the recent uptick in steelmaking margins amid stronger demand in steel exports, Chinese mills are unlikely to consider switching up to higher-grade materials to boost blast furnace efficiency, a trader in Beijing said.
The trader added that most mills have been more amenable to increasing their iron ore lump consumption instead of pellet cargoes, which resulted in a short-term increase in lump prices in the portside market by about 10-20 yuan per tonne.
No tenders for mid-grade pellet cargoes from India were heard in the week ending Friday, with more exporters attributing that to low bids in the seaborne market.
A trader in Singapore told Fastmarkets that pellet exporters from India continue to be particularly sensitive to prices, choosing to divert additional cargoes into the domestic market.
Fastmarkets’ weekly pellet prices 65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $121.88, up $0.54 Iron ore pellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China: $10.00, down $0.30
Trades/offers/bids heard in the market No visible activity