India’s iron-ore exports this month may decline 5-10 per cent as China cuts purchases, a minerals industry group said.
Enquiries from buyers of the main raw material used to make steel have dried up in the last 15 days, R K Sharma, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, said.
Exports rose last month, compared with the same period a year earlier, he said. China’s stockpiles of iron ore to make steel are at 75 million tonnes, just 0.6 per cent below level last September, when they rose to the highest since at least 2006. Chinese buyers purchased iron ore at $86 a tonne last week, compared with a peak of $105.90 this year, according to The Steel Index.
Iron-ore swaps for settlement this month traded at $98.26 a tonne on August 28, according to SGX AsiaClear over-the-counter prices from Singapore Exchange Ltd. They indicate prices may drop to $86.94 in October.