Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Rio Settles Iron Ore Price With Most Asia Customers

Rio Tinto Group, the second-largest iron ore producer, said it settled supply contracts with most major Asian customers, including Taiwan’s China Steel Corp., at the same terms as Japanese mills agreed on last week.

Rio’s Hammersley Iron unit also reached an accord with Taiwan’s Dragon Steel Corp., London-based Rio said today in a statement distributed on the Regulatory News Service.

The price agreed for Pilbara blend fines and Yandicoogina ore was 97 cents a dry metric ton unit in the 12 months that began April 1, 2009, while Pilbara blend lump was 112 cents. South Korea’s Posco, the region’s third-biggest steelmaker, said May 28 it would pay the same price, which is 33 percent less than a year earlier.

Rio is continuing to negotiate with its remaining customers, most of which are in China, Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Officer Sam Walsh said in the statement.

About half of the ore Rio produced this calendar year was sold on an immediate-market basis, the company added.

Source: Bloomberg

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