Premiums of Lumps and Pellets to Grow in Mar

SHANGHAI, Mar 7 (SMM) - In March, the environmental protection-related production restriction in north China will be stricter during the two sessions, and the steel mills' demand for lump will increase. However, the shipments are low, which will hike the lump premiums up. In addition, mine safety inspections during the Two Sessions will lead to output losses, which will further push up the iron ore concentrate prices. As such, the profit margins of independent pellet plants can barely rise, thus the output is expected to remain stable. Steel mills will be more active in production with the improvement of construction steel demand, further leading to the demand growth for pellets. However, pellet supply from India and Iran will increase limitedly. SMM expects the premiums of both lumps and pellets to rise in March.