The price of iron ore is likely
to decline further in the coming weeks, with steel mills in China still
unwilling to buy and stockpiles of expensive ores remaining stubbornly high,
the country's steel industry association said on Monday.
Zhang Changfu, the vice-chairman
of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), told a news briefing on Monday
that mills were clearly unwilling to buy ore at current prices while domestic
steel demand falters and dozens of smelters shut down.
“In my personal opinion, the
price of imported iron ore will fall further, because the trends for the whole
sector are unlikely to get better and steel mills don't dare to buy ore,”
he said.
He said stockpiles at eight major
ports had risen to 98 million tonnes, with much of it bought at prices of
around $165/MT
Zhang said CISA was currently
talking with the three major iron ore suppliers, Vale , Rio Tinto and BHP
Billiton , about reforming the pricing system, adding that Chinese steel mills
were currently buying ore mostly on a spot price basis.
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