The full set of prices in the NFL tender were released after Green Markets went to press Dec. 22. Initial reports showed a low price for the West Coast of $259.29/mt CFR by Eastern Commodity. The final numbers in India’s NFL tender showed that Eastern Commodity offered 45,000 mt at $259.02/mt CFR for deliver to Rozy on the West Coast. The lowest price for the East Coast also came from Eastern Commodity at $263.03/mt CFR into Tuticorin with 30,000 mt.
Sources said negotiations for other companies to match the Eastern Commodity prices could be delayed until Dec. 26 to allow for the Christmas holiday.
Going into the tender industry watchers were expecting to see prices in the upper $250s/mt CFR and the low $260s/mt CFR. In the end, the prices skewed to the upper $260s/mt FOB. The average offering price was $267/mt CFR.
India is reported to be at least 500,000 mt short of closing out the current season. Sources said NFL would most likely try for 700,000 mt if the price was right. One trader said, as the tender numbers started coming in that same Iranian tons may have been offered by more than one trading house. This could mean, he said, there might not be enough tons offered in this tender to cover the country’s needs.
Sources said if a new tender is called in January to fill out the needed tons, the buyers should expect prices to move back into the $280s/mt CFR, a range that previously caused NFL to scrap an earlier tender.