NMDC expects prices to stabilise as iron ore mines reopen in Odisha

9th April 2018

State-owned NMDC Ltd. expects prices to stabilise as iron ore mines in Odisha recommence operations, easing supply.

“We don’t see prices going too high or too low, as the iron ore supply looks quite stable now,” TRK Rao, director-commercial of the company, told BloombergQuint. India’s largest iron ore miner cut prices of lump and fines ores by 3.2 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively in March, after a steep hike in December and January.

The price hikes followed a Supreme Court order to shut iron ore mines in Odisha with annual capacity of 25 million tonnes, resulting in a supply shortage. Since then, a majority of these mines have recommenced operations.

NMDC hopes that the price stability will help it clock an additional three-four million tonnes of volume growth in the financial year 2018-19. The company attained its best ever sales of 36.2 million tonnes in March, added Rao.

Source: BLOOMBERG QUINT