Business Line reported that NMDC is likely to hike prices of iron ore for January, as global ore prices rallied strongly this month in the wake of a demand revival from China.
Sources said that the iron ore miner, which currently fixes ore prices on a monthly basis, will be finalizing next month’s prices when its board meets on January 2nd.
Global iron ore prices hit an eight month high this week, after being under pressure the last few months. The possible price hike will add to the pressure on the Indian steel industry, which is battling costlier inputs and tame domestic demand.
In October, NMDC had cut ore prices by 2% to 11% and did not opt for a revision this month, providing some relief to steel producers.
For the July to September quarter, the company had increased prices by 8% to 13% and about INR 250 a tonne to INR 400 a tonne for the previous quarter, despite global prices remaining more or less stable for the last three months.
Currently, the price of iron ore lumps is around INR 5,400 a tonne while that of fines with less than 60 per cent content is INR 2,600 a tonne. Globally, ore prices hit a three year low in early September.
However, they had fallen from an average of about USD 200 in May 2011 to about USD 150 this May and below USD 100 a tonne in early September.
Source:
http://www.steelguru.com/raw_material_news/NMDC_likely_to_hike_iron_ore_prices_on_global_rally/296899.html
