BHP widens iron ore discounts for first-quarter 2020
Australian iron ore mining company BHP has widened January-March discounts for some of its iron ore fines in response to a shift to higher-Fe ores at steelmakers.
The differential for BHP's medium-grade product Jimblebar fines has nearly doubled to 10.5pc below the 62pc index for January-March contract shipments from 5.5pc below the 62pc index in October-December, according to Chinese mills that received a pricing notice from BHP.
The wider discount for Jimblebar follows a 0.8pc decrease in the brand's Fe content earlier this year. BHP reduced Jimblebar's typical Fe to 59.5pc from 60.3pc effective 15 July.
BHP's 60.8pc Fe Mac fines will price at 0.5pc below the 62pc index compared with flat to index in October-December. The differential for 57pc Fe Yandi fines will widen to 8pc below the 62pc index in January-October from 6pc below the index in the current quarter.
Widening profit margins have led Chinese mills to maximise productivity by increasing their use of higher-Fe iron ores. Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals has widened differentials for December-indexed cargoes in response to weaker spot pricing for sub-60pc Fe ores.
The Argus Jimblebar 62pc basis (JMBF62) value-in-market (ViM) brand differential has averaged $8.59/dry metric tonne (dmt) below the Argus 62pc ICX index so far in December, compared to a discount of $4.91/dmt for July. The Argus Yandi 62pc basis (YDF62) ViM differential has averaged $4.43/dmt below the ICX in December, compared with an average premium of $4.16/dmt in July.
By Chris Newman
source: Argus Media
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