Bloomberg reported that surge in iron ore imports by China is strengthening the ability of BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Group and Vale SA to ask for higher prices.
Mr Jing Ulrich, the Hong Kong-based chairwoman of China equities and commodities at JPMorgan Chase & Co, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview that ”The bottom line is, China’s demand for iron ore, for coking coal, will remain extremely strong given China’s record production of steel products.”
Mr Hu Kai, a Shanghai based analyst with researcher Custeel.com, said by phone that “Rising cash prices boosted expectations for higher contract benchmark prices.”
Chinese iron ore imports reached 62.2 million tonnes in December as compared with 51.1 million tonnes in November.
| Item | Dec'09 | Jan-Dec'09 | Jan-Dec'08 | Change |
| Iron Ore | 62.16 | 627.78 | 443.45 | 41.57% |
In million tonnes
(Sourced from Bloomberg)
