Fortescue shipped 3.42mn dwt, up from 3.01mn dwt the week before but 3pc below its average of 3.54mn dwt.

Buyers started cutting the proportion of direct-charge materials in January — first reducing pellet usage and then lowering the lump proportion, sources said.

The stronger pricing environment is more than offsetting the higher costs, with most firms guiding for a much more profitable January-June than July-December.

The pilot programme might not affect the ratio of iron ore in mills' blends, which has seen less direct-charge use recently, but total output might be reduced, a mill iron ore buyer said.

The prices of vanadium alloy has fallen back;

The molybdenum alloy market run smoothly;

The prices of tungsten alloy up steadily;

Frequent news about the shutdown of ferrosilicon enterprises in Inner Mongolia, boosting market sentiment.