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BERLIN (Scrap Monster): German iron ore import prices dropped 13.2% month-on-month in September this year, hitting their lowest level in 28 months, as per the index data from the federal statistics office (Destatis).

The three-month rolling average of free-at-the-German border iron ore prices was 5.6% weaker than in August, partly reflecting quarterly contract prices, which track spot prices with a time lag of several months.

Compared with a year earlier, import prices were 33.2% lower, falling at their fastest in a nine-month deflation trend. In 2011, annual inflation had approached 35%.

Among other inputs for the steel industry, import prices for coking products fell 3.4% month-on-month, for hard coal declined 4.1% and for pig iron, steel and ferroalloy products eased 0.3%, the data showed.

The euro regained ground against the dollar in September, up 3.7% in the month, benefiting importers with dollar-denominated contracts.

German mills fully rely on foreign iron ore sources. Over the first eight months of 2012, the country imported 26.47 million mt of iron ore, 9.8% less than a year earlier as steel output decreased.