Exporters and miners said that India's iron ore prices moved closer to USD 100 a tonne on Thursday on strong inquiries from China and smaller than usual supplies owing to the monsoon.
A Shanghai based iron ore trader said that "Indian ore prices have risen very quickly in China now. Demand is always there as you know the output of steel mills is rising, while prices have been boosted due to some problems of Australian ore deliveries."
Mr Raja Dhupar vice president of Yazdani International Pvt Ltd an iron ore trader operating from eastern India said that "A lot of people want to buy, but not everybody can provide supplies.”
Mr Dhupar said that ships at Paradip port in the east had a waiting time of 15 to 20 days owing to slow loading of goods in the rains and the after effect of a strike this month at the nearby port of Haldia.
India, which exports about 100 million tonnes of iron ore mainly to China, is in its leanest season for the material as the rains slow mining and west coast ports stop shipping iron ore fines that tend to absorb moisture.
Deadlocked talks between China and its biggest supplier, Australia, are helping Indian exporters push prices higher.