India: Bids rise by INR 150/t ($2) m-o-m in OMC's Mar'26 iron ore fines auction

In OMC's iron ore fines auction for 2.04 mnt (Fe 51-65%) on 19 Mar'26, around 1.677 mnt (82%) was booked at INR 2,800-6,150/t ex-mines. The majority of the lots received premiums of INR 400-1,000/t. Meanwhile, weighted average bids rose by INR 150/t m-o-m. The lack of offers and limited availability of ore in the merchant market, along with miners' EC expiration and the hike in steel prices, led to bids rising in the auction.