UPDATE: China Still In Talks On Iron Ore Prices
July 08 2009 - 2:27AM
Dow Jones News
China is still in talks with suppliers of iron ore, BHP Billiton
Ltd. (BHP.AU) and a Chinese steel industry executive said
Wednesday.
The Chinese executive, who declined to be named, confirmed that
the talks were continuing after the China Business News reported on
its Web site Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that China had
struck a deal with iron ore suppliers for cuts of 33%-44% in iron
ore prices for the contract period between April and October.
A BHP spokeswoman declined to comment on the report, but she
said price talks are ongoing.
"We will make an announcement when the majority of our contracts
have been settled," she said.
The China Iron and Steel Association has been leading the
negotiations for Chinese steel mills with Brazilian miner Vale S.A.
(VALE) and Anglo-Australian miners Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) and BHP.
The three mining majors account for a combined 70% of global
iron ore export sales.
The China Business News report didn't say which firms had struck
deals.
The report said iron ore talks for the second half were ongoing,
implying that current negotiations may have shifted to a
semi-annual basis due to the six-month contract term reportedly
reached.
In the past, the iron ore negotiations would wrap up before
April 1, the start date for annual contracts. But in recent years,
negotiations have become more protracted, culminating this year in
a months-long standoff between miners and Chinese mills over the
extent of the price cuts.
-By J.R. Wu, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 6588-5848;
jr.wu@dowjones.com
(Juan Chen, Li Yue and Alex Wilson contributed to this
story.)