Talks on iron ore rate cuts continuing

Talks between China's steel industry and international iron ore suppliers to settle the final price of ore for the 2009-10 contract year were still ongoing, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said, even as it admitted that some steel mills had agreed to a 33-percent cut from last year's price.

A negotiator from CISA said the price agreed to by Chinese mills was not final, the Caijing financial magazine reported.

This year's negotiations have become particularly uncertain following this week's detention of four employees of Rio Tinto, which has triggered a sweeping revamp of the iron ore import business.