't zal maar gebeuren schreef op 4 december 2015 12:55:
By Alex MacDonald and Rhiannon Hoyle
LONDON--The benchmark spot price for iron ore dropped below $40 a metric ton for the first time in roughly a decade as traders continued to fret about an economic slowdown in China, the world's largest consumer of the steel-making ingredient, and a glut of ore hitting the global market.
On Friday, the price of iron ore fell 2.2% to $39.40 a ton, according to the Steel Index, marking the lowest level since 2005. The benchmark price is down by a fifth since the start of November and off 80% since its peak in early 2011.
"There are little [positive] catalysts for iron ore currently, given the slowdown in Chinese activity for winter," said Investec analysts in a note Friday.
The downturn of iron ore--the world's second-most-traded commodity, after oil --is in part rooted in the huge expansion of mines, including those owned by the world's top three iron ore producers: Brazil's Vale SA (VALE), and Anglo-Australian miners Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) and BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP).
Rising supplies of the raw material are being met by waning demand in China, the world's top buyer. Steel makers have begun to cut production in response to a slowdown in demand for the building material that has sent domestic steel prices to record lows.
China's steel output declined more than 3% in October from a year earlier, according to the latest data from the World Steel Association, an industry body.
The glut of iron ore is expected to take years to clear. Brazil's Vale SA, the world's top supplier of the commodity, forecasts global iron-ore exports to reach some 1.6 billion tons in 2016, surpassing the demand it foresees of between 1.35 billion and 1.4 billion tons.
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December 04, 2015 06:53 ET (11:53 GMT)
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