News Americas reported that the exuberant iron ore prices seen in recent years on the Chinese spot market are a thing of the past and do not exist anymore, Brazilian mining giant Mr Luciano Siani CFO of Vale's said during a panel at the China to Brazil Business Council seminar, held in São Paulo on November 21st.
Mr Siani said that "However, the Chinese scenario for commodity producers should be favorable in the next 10 to 15 years."
In the first 9 months of 2012, iron ore prices declined by 25.4% on average, bottoming at USD 87.90 per tonne, the lowest value since 2009, from a USD 190 per tonne peak during 2011. The commodity's share in Brazil's total exports declined to 12.7% in the same period, as previously reported.
The executive said that "The prices were a reflection of an imbalance between supply and demand."
According to Mr Siani, Vale is waiting for China's economic growth to resume, although at a lower pace than seen in the past.
He said that "Urbanization in China is still underway, with around 50% of the population living in cities, well below the 70% to 80% in developed nations."
