Review of pellet and lump premiums and short-term price trend forecast

From January to March 2025, key pellet premium indicators remained at relatively high levels compared to the same period in previous years. The Mysteel 63% Ukraine/Russia pellet premium ranged between $7.65-9/tonne (Fig.1), the Mysteel 63% India pellet premium between $7.1-8.45/tonne, and the Mysteel 62% pellet ex-factory price in Hebei between Yuan 1,015-1,040/tonne, which is a premium of Yuan 220-250/tonne over the portside spot 62% index.

1. Pellet premiums show strong resistance to downward pressure from January to March The resilience of pellet prices can be attributed to overall supply tightness. The inventory of imported pellets at 47 ports remained at low levels (Fig.2). As of March 7, total imported pellet inventory at ports was 4.47