China To Confirm Rio-Japan Ore Deal Before Comment -Baosteel
May 26 2009 - 3:11AM
Dow Jones News
Chinese negotiators for the country's 2009 iron ore term price
talks with global mining majors said they were still trying to
confirm the price cuts Rio Tinto Plc (RTP) had offered Japanese
steel mills, a top Chinese negotiator said Tuesday.
Reached Tuesday afternoon, Ding Shouhu, chief negotiator for
Baosteel Group Corp., the Chinese mill leading the talks, said he
needed to confirm the terms of the Rio-Nippon Steel deal before
commenting, even after the news had been published on Rio's Web
site.
Rio Tinto said Tuesday it struck a deal with Japan's Nippon
Steel Corp. (5401.TO) for a 33% to 44% drop in iron ore term prices
for the 2009-10 contract year that started April 1.
When asked if this meant China would still stick to its demands
from miners for a 40%-45% cut from last year's terms, Ding declined
to answer, reiterating that he needed to confirm the news with
Rio.
-By Chuin-Wei Yap, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 6588 5848;
chuin-wei.yap@dowjones.com