FMG hardens its stance on discount

Australia's third-largest iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), is likely to stop offering Chinese steelmakers an earlier agreed-to price discount on its iron ore in the fourth quarter, a top company executive said yesterday.

FMG's move has dealt a blow to China's steel industry lobby, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), which had last Friday said that it was looking at separate negotiations with global miners on iron ore pricing for next year, rather than being clubbed with other countries on the issue.

This year's iron ore price negotiations hit a deadlock in June after CISA insisted on a better discount on 2008-09 prices after a 33-percent cut in benchmark iron ore prices had been set with other Asian steel mills.