Fortescue widens December iron ore discounts

Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals has widened the discount for its 56.5pc Fe SSF fines for December, as higher profit margins shift steel mills' appetite to higher grade ores.

SSF fines will be priced at an 15pc discount to the December 62pc index compared with a 12pc discount for November index-linked cargoes, according to Chinese mill buyers.

The discount on 58.3pc Fe Fortescue blended fines will widen to 10pc from 7pc, while the discount on 57.3pc Fe King's fines will widen to 7pc from 6pc.

Fortescue's newest product, 60.3pc Fe West Pilbara fines (WPF), will be priced at a 3pc discount to the December 62pc index compared with a 1pc discount in November. Fortescue's lump discount widened to 10pc from 8pc.

A widening of Chinese steel profit margins in November has prompted mills to maximise output by using more 62-65pc Fe ores.

The Argus-assessed yuan-denominated SSF fines has widened its discount to the Argus PCX 62pc portside index from around 13pc in September to around 16-18pc in October-November.

SSF priced at 530 yuan/wet metric tonne (wmt) free-on-truck Qingdao on 22 November, an 18.5pc discount to the Argus PCX portside fines index at Yn651/wmt fot Qingdao.