Despite a gloomy outlook for the world steel industry, and with Chinese steel prices falling for a second straight week, Brazilian miner Vale expects record iron ore shipments to China in the first quarter, CFO Fábio Barbosa told reporters at a press conference on Friday in Rio de Janeiro.
"We expect shipments of 50Mt in Q1 and 30Mt of this total are heading to China," Barbosa said. "This would be a record in shipments to China. It's a sign of recovery but still below our 80Mt record in 3Q08."
However, Mr Barbosa said that despite the record outlook, the company still faces an extremely challenging economic scenario in all markets and Vale is still producing below the company's nominal capacity.
In addition to China, the company has been receiving orders from India and the US. "This is a positive sign," he said.
Meanwhile the company is hoping to lock in long-term, benchmark supply contracts to more of China's 100 steel mills.
Source: Business News Americas
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