Iron ore prices slid on Friday amid further losses in Chinese steel markets.
The Metal Bulletin Fastmarkets iron ore index 62% Fe fines price was $US92.56 a tonne, down 67 cents a tonne.
That was down 6.7% over the week from the $US99.30 close the week before.
Friday’s close though was still above the $US89.05 level the week before.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that China has slashed imports of iron ore from Iran in the past two months thanks to moves by the Iranian government to lift export taxes.
Iran’s deputy minister of industries said earlier this month that exports of all steelmaking raw materials will be hit with a 25% tariff to meet demand in domestic steel industry.
The export taxes cover various products from Iran’s iron mills, including iron ore and concentrates and come into force from tonight (September 23).
Reuters said Iran shipped 319,920 tonnes of iron ore to China in August, down 37.8% from July and 23.4% lower than a year earlier.
To give that some context, that’s two standard shipments from either BHP or Rio Tinto or Fortescue Metals, so the impact on global markets won’t be at all significant.
