Brazilian 65 percent iron ore price is now $117/t CFR China, down from $118/t on June 5, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
Blast furnace repairs in China between June 13 and June 19 cut pig iron production by about 1.11 million tons, with further declines expected, sources said. This weakened demand expectations for iron ore and put pressure on prices. Recently released weak economic data from China's real estate sector has also weighed on market sentiment.
Blast furnace pellets are exported at $135/t, up from $136/t previously, showing the same premium over sinter fines of the same grade.
Market sources said the premium for Brazilian 65 percent iron ore compared to Australian 62 percent ore rose to 8.7 percent from 8.5 percent per unit of iron, indicating strong demand for higher quality material.
In Brazil's domestic market, reference prices were unchanged at US$77 per tonne of ore and US$95 per tonne of pellets, ex-works, excluding taxes.
These prices were supported by lower freight rates between Brazil and China as domestic prices calculated on an FOB basis using China CFR as the quality
According to brokers Banchero Costa, the Tubarao-Qingdao route, the benchmark for Brazil-China iron ore shipments, is $36.50/t today, up from $37.72/t last week, remaining one of the highest in recent years and 48.4% higher than the same period in 2025, which reflects mainly higher bunker prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. East.
