India Iron Ore Futures Up; Court Decision On Exports Eyed.

India's iron ore futures rose on Tuesday on the back of price gains overseas, even as traders awaited the decision from the Supreme Court to lift ban on exports from Karnataka, analysts and traders said.

The world's first futures contracts of the steel making ingredient entered into its third day of trade with mild volumes.

Spot iron ore prices hovered near record highs, with offers stuck around $188-$190 per tonne for Indian ore with 63.5 percent iron content, said Chinese consultancy Umetal.

The Steel Index 62 percent Gauge .IO62-CNI=SI gained 30 cents to $185.60, near its all-time high of $185.70 reached on Jan. 21.

At 5:00 p.m., the most-active 62 percent Indian iron fines for March delivery rose 0.8 percent to 8,105.50 rupees per tonne on the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX), including freight cost to China. Total volumes recorded were at 24,600 tonnes.

"Buying from China would now slow due to the New Year there. We are eagerly waiting for court's decision on exports," said a trader with an exporting firm in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, a central Indian state. The company ships most of its iron ore to China, which houses the world's largest steel industry.

India's southern Karnataka state had in July banned export of iron ore which has hit shipments from the country.

India's Supreme Court is due to decide mid-February on whether to lift the ban, a ruling, analysts say, could influence a plan by another Indian state, top iron ore producer Orissa, to ban exports as well and should help set the direction for prices.

India is the world's third-biggest iron ore exporter after Australia and Brazil and normally exports around 100 million tonnes of iron ore annually of which around a quarter comes from Karnataka.

Source : reuters.com