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Declining Chinese demand spurs iron ore price drop

By Zhao Tingting (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-14 14:15

The price of iron ore supply to China by the three iron ore giants, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Vale, stopped the climbing trend and saw a decrease of 10 percent in October, Beijing Business Today reported Thursday, citing sources with steelmakers.

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Analysts believed that declining demand from China was the main cause of the price drop, the report said.

China imported 460 million tons of iron ore in the first three quarters, down 2.5 percent from the previous year, according to statistics from the Customs. The average price of iron ore imports stood at $121.7 per ton, 56.4 percent higher than last year.

"The growth of steel demand was falling in China, leading dwindling iron ore demand from steelmakers. That's the main reason for the three iron ore giants bringing down prices," said Chenling, vice director of the Metallurgical Economic Research & Development Center.