Chinese Steel Producers Accept 19% Price Increase For Iron Ore

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By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck

The long wait seems to be over, and that probably also goes for ongoing speculation about what Chinese steel manufacturers would do if they were not able to convince the world’s largest suppliers of iron ore they deserved a better price than the 19% hike agreed to by steel manufacturers elsewhere.

Interfax China reports that Shanghai Baoshan Iron and Steel Group (Baosteel), China’s largest steelmaker, is about to accept a 19% iron ore price increase from major international suppliers for the year to March 2007. The report is based upon anonymous government sources.

Earlier several other media reported similar stories all on the basis of anonymous sources in China. Baosteel’s admission comes after an iron ore conference convened by the China’s Iron and Steel Association (CISA) yesterday to discuss the final settlement for price talks, the anonymous sources said.

According to Fairfax, the sources did not want their names published because of the sensitivity surrounding the iron ore negotiations.

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