Tuesday, February 9, 2010

CISA Warns Of Rising Cost Of Iron Ore Imports

The rising cost of iron ore imports will put pressure on domestic iron ore prices which could hurt Chinese steel mills, the China Iron and Steel Association CISA said during a media briefing on Tuesday.

Luo Bingsheng, vice-chairman of CISA, said the association has received government support to raise the threshold for qualifying ore importers and to cut imports this year. CISA blamed small and medium-sized steelmakers and importers for keeping spot ore prices high, putting the association in a difficult position as it sought price cuts for term supplies during last year’s failed benchmark discussions.

Talks to set a 2010 price benchmark are ongoing, but whereas CISA said in December that it expects a rise of 20-30 per cent, the large iron ore miners have reportedly asked Japanese and Korean steel mills for a 40 per cent price rise.

Last year China imported 628 million tonnes of iron ore.

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