DR pellet premium down for Q4 shipments on low demand

摘要

The direct-reduced (DR) iron pellet premium dropped for shipments in fourth quarter on falling demand due to buyers increasing the steel scrap share in steel melting to cut production costs. Fastmarkets cut its iron ore DR-grade pellet premium, Middle East reference to $41 per tonne on Monday September 30, down from $62 per tonne on August 30. Meanwhile, the average of Fastmarkets’ index for iron ore 65% Fe, Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao, which is used as the basis of settlement for pellet premium contracts, was $99.84 per tonne in September, slightly up from $99.17 per tonne in August. Several buyers reported that the premium had declined to $40 per tonne.