Imported iron ore prices drop by 7.2 percent

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-26 09:47

The symposium is regarded as a warming up of a fresh round of international iron ore prices negotiation, which attract great attention of the world iron and steel industry.

More than 40 Chinese iron and steel companies including Shanghai-based Baosteel as well as the world top three iron ore providers Australian BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Brazilian Vale do Rio Doce attended the symposium.

But the executives of the foreign iron ore providers declined to comment on the iron prices next year, only saying that they are optimistic about China's steel market and iron ore imports. They also predicted a gap between demand and supply in China.

Lu Jianhua, director of China's Ministry of Commerce's Foreign Trade Department, did not think imported iron ore prices would continue to rise, saying that past four straight years of increase had made mines gain huge profits but left steel businesses earning little or even suffering losses.

"It is not in the interests of the two sides of demand and supply," he said.

Lu predicted that China's total iron ore imports for the year would be around 320 million tons, up 20 percent from a year earlier but down 12 percentage points in growth rate.

"Chinese steel businesses should actively participate in the global iron ore pricing and it is also justified for the Chinese government to pay attention to this, because iron ore is the major raw material of iron and steel industry, which concerns the whole of national economy," he said.

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