Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher

Contract conundrum: Q4 prices set to settle down as shorter terms start to emerge

August 23, 2010 - 00:00 GMT

All calm? - Talk of defaults appear to be off the mark

Third-quarter iron ore contracts have largely gone as planned. Falling spot market values certainly put contract prices under pressure. But talk of defaults seem to have been off target. There were some amendments — Rio Tinto shifted its reference period one month backwards in line with Vale’s. This meant mills paid Rio Tinto and Vale $154.999 per tonne cfr Qingdao on a 62% Fe basis, according to the average of the MBIOI in March,...

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