Vale's ( NYSE: VALE ) Q4 iron ore production fell 1% from the final quarter a year earlier and nearly 10% from Q3 to 80.9M metric tons, the company's latest quarterly production report said Tuesday.
Q4 iron ore sales volume fell 0.7% from a year earlier while surging 24.2% from Q3 to 81.2M tons.
Q4 production of iron ore pellets fell 8.9% Y/Y while edging 0.1% higher from Q3 to 8.3M metric tons.
For the full year, Vale ( VALE ) said annual output totaled 307.8M tons, slightly below its 310M-ton forecast, citing seasonally higher rainfall levels in its mines in Brazil for the miss.
Q4 nickel production fell 1.3% Y/Y to 47.4K metric tons, after scheduled maintenance stoppages at its Canadian plants, but nickel sales volumes jumped 30.2% to 58.2K tons, as the company shifted pent-up stocks to fulfill supply contracts.
Vale ( VALE ) "seems competent in controlling its iron ore output in 2023, potentially putting a floor on iron prices," Juxtaposed Ideas writes in an analysis posted recently on Seeking Alpha .
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Vale's quarterly iron ore production slips while nickel sales volume surges