India's iron ore prices have risen to $60 a tonne free on board for the first time since early March, with bigger inquiries coming from China and a cut in supplies owing to the monsoon, exporters and a trade body head said on Wednesday.
"We are getting inquiries asking for ores at $58-$59 (a tonne FOB), but we are not looking at anything below $60," said Gaurav Atha, managing partner at K.N. Ram & Co, a miner and exporter in east India. Exporters said a rise in freight rates had brought more Chinese buyers to India as it is cheaper to ship ores from the country compared to Brazil and Australia. But also, firmer steel prices had given a sentiment boost to iron ore, a major ingredient for steel, they added.
The June to August monsoon has shut down the shipping of iron ore fines from Goa. India exports about 100 million tonnes of iron ore, mainly to China.
"Port operations are suspended for fines, though some lumpy ores will continue to be loaded," said Glen Kalvanpara, secretary of Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association. "Most of the mines would have closed for maintenance."
Goa exported about 45 million tonnes of iron ore in 2008/09, which ended on March 31.
Source: Reuters
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