Sydney: BHP Billiton has warned that it may sell part of its recently increased production of iron ore on the spot market. The Australian ore miner has faced trouble getting Asian steelmakers signing all new long-term contracts to agree to pay a freight premium, rumoured to be about $10 per tonne.
According to the The Sydney Morning Herald, BHP marketing president Tom Schutte pointed out that Indian and Brazil sourced iron ore currently command an extremely lucrative price on the spot market, particularly from Chinese customers. Although Schutte maintained that the company would honour all current contracts, he made it clear that the company will allocate a percentage of its production to the spot market, which "reflects true supply-demand fundamentals." [04/10/07]
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