Wednesday, March 02,
Australian iron ore producers like Rio Tinto & BHB Billiton could be in for a windfall of higher prices in the third quarter after India moved to hike export duties on iron to 20 percent, sector executives and analysts said on Tuesday..*
The gains would come at the expense of steel mills worldwide, which are facing higher costs for an indispensable raw material at a time when costs appeared to be trending down.
“This will inevitably lead to higher spot prices, which when indexed later in the year will be the basis for higher contract prices,” said an executive with an Australian iron ore company.
Indian ore with 63.5 percent iron content was quoted at around $188-189/MT, including freight, in China on Tuesday but traders say prices could rise $10-$15 in the near term with India’s move.
“I think the increase in iron ore tax would have an impact on prices but it will take at least a couple of days for that to sink in,” said a Shanghai-based iron ore trader.
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