Venezuelan hot-briquetted iron export activity slowed down in the first week of March and no cargoes are currently available for traders, according to industry sources and port agency data.
No new vessel visited the Venezuelan port of Palua in the first week of March. The St Andrew is expected to berth at Palua during the weekend, to load direct-reduced iron from steelmaker Sidor.
The only vessel that left Venezuela in March was the Bulk Trident, which berthed in the Orinoco on February 19 and left on March 1 for Barranquilla, Colombia. The volume of HBI was 31,824 mt.
No vessels are expected to reach the country next week, and no HBI cargoes have been made available from Venezuelan producers, sources said.
During February, a total of six vessels entered the Orinoco region. Two of these went to Mexico, one headed to Colombia, one to the US, one to Italy and one to Spain.
The draft of the Orinoco River, 7-10 meters, hampers loading and affects freight costs, as vessels cannot load full cargoes.
The S&P Global Platts monthly Venezuelan HBI export price assessment increased $10 to $250/mt FOB for early March bookings, based on a $240-$260/mt range of bids, offers and deals.
