Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher

Miners likely to seek parity with spot: benchmark prices could rise by 80%

March 08, 2010 - 00:00 GMT

Hike - Analysts predict levels previously thought untenable as debate hots up

The outlook for 2010 iron ore benchmark prices has moved to levels thought untenable until a few weeks ago as negotiations continued and debate heats up. One analyst has predicted this year’s settlement will be 80% higher than last year’s level. A senior ArcelorMittal executive was reported last week as confirming this view. “What we’re hearing from Asia is in the direction of 70-80%,” Robrecht Himpe, ceo of ArcelorMittal’s Flat Carbon Europe business, told The Australian. Underpinning the revised predictions has been the run-up in spot iron ore prices to as high as $140 per tonne cfr China — a level that is close to double last year’s default annual contract prices. Earlier last week Chinese media suggested that BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Vale had tabled a 50% demand in benchmark talks,...

All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. © Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.


subscribe to this feed Comment & analysis

  • COMMENT: When super-cycle poster child BHP Billiton trims its plans...

    BHP Billiton is one of the poster children for the commodities super-cycle: a mining company whose immense upstream assets in copper and iron ore have fed the industrialisation of China since the early years of the 21st century and enabled it to return $52 billion to shareholders between 2001 and 2011.

  • LORD COPPER: There is nothing to fear after JP Morgan loss ...

    So, here we go again. Another bank, another huge trade gone bad. This one doesn’t even appear to have been a case of rogue trading; a whole desk seems to have been operating with the full knowledge of the management and/or risk committee.

  • COMMENT: Keep calm and carry on?

    The decision of the Indonesian government last week to uphold the ore export ban and taxes from May 6 has failed to calm the nervous market. So far, both producers and buyers have displayed an impressive tolerance level to the export uncertainty. But how long will their patience last?

Upcoming Events

Most readMost emailed

Popular Searches on MB

MB Glossary


From Aluminium to Zinc...
Search this free glossary on metals