Nikkei Reports BHP and Others to Raise Iron Ore Prices by 23%

Nikkei reports Australian resource majors to raise July-September iron ore prices by 23%: The morning edition of the June 8 Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that Australian resource majors BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have notified Japanese steelmakers that July-September iron ore prices will be raised by around 23% QoQ. Considering that April-June prices were at around $110- 120/ton, this would suggest July-September prices of around $135-148/ton. We have yet to confirm the news with the companies, but given that Bloomberg and other media sources reported on May 31 that Brazilian resource major Vale will raise July-September iron ore prices by 35% QoQ, we think the news is

generally factual, despite some disparity in the reported size of the price hikes.