Spot iron ore prices may fall Aug. 25

Print this page Posted on : 08-26-2009 by recycleinme.com

Cash iron ore prices may fall to about $70 a tonne in the near term as China, the world's biggest buyer, cuts purchases, said Mr Rana Som, Chairman of NMDC Ltd. This could happen in a few days, Mr Som said in a phone interview from Hyderabad, where NMDC is based. The forecast is 26 per cent lower than this year's peak rate of $95 without freight earlier this month, according to Macquarie Securities Ltd. China's stockpiles of iron ore to make steel are at 75 million tonnes, just 0.6 per cent below levels last September, when they rose to the highest since at least 2006. The cash price for Australian iron ore delivered to China slumped 9.3 per cent on August 21 after Chinese steel prices declined.

Source : Business Line