Mining giant Rio Tinto said on Monday it had agreed to cut iron ore contract prices by between 33 percent and 44 percent for Japan’s Nippon Steel for the new contract year starting on April 1.
The price cut, in the first deal of the year, is not as deep as the 40 percent to 45 percent drop China’s steelmakers have been pushing for to reflect weaker market conditions.
Analysts said the Nippon deal could have little bearing on agreements with China, the world’s biggest importer of iron ore, which believes it should now be setting the benchmark in the annual talks between miners and mills.
One Sydney-based dealer said: “The deal with Japan doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about China ... The benchmark pricing system is becoming a bit of a dinosaur. It’s likely to continue to exist for Japan, but not necessarily China.”
Other major miners such as BHP Billiton and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and key consumers such as Chinese steel mills are still negotiating contract prices. The deal with Nippon, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, represents falls of 44 percent for lump prices and 33 percent for fines. Rio Tinto said it would sell iron ore fines for US$0.97 per dry tonne, compared with US$1.446 last contract year and would charge US$1.12 a tonne for lump iron ore, down from US$2.0169.
“We believe this settlement is a realistic outcome for both parties, one that reflects the global market for iron ore and the current challenging market conditions facing our customers,” Rio’s iron ore chief Sam Walsh said.
Walsh earlier told a mining conference that Rio’s mines had been “flat out” meeting Chinese demand, with the global economic downturn and commodities price slump forcing the closure of smaller mining operations there.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS