German Iron Ore import prices drop 13.2% m-o-m in Sep: Destatis
Metal Recycling News | 2012-10-27 04:14:15
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).
By Paul Ploumis
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.
