RSSChina May Have to Accept Higher Iron Ore Prices, Angang Says
Mar 05
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China May Have to Accept Higher Iron Ore Prices, Angang Says
March 05, 2010, 7:07 AM EST
March 5 (Bloomberg) — Steelmakers in China, the world’s biggest buyer of iron ore, may have to accept a price increase higher than the 20 percent they expected for this year, Angang Steel Co. said.
“The price talks aren’t optimistic,” Chairman Zhang Xiaogang said in Beijing today while attending the National People’s Congress. Angang Steel is China’s biggest Hong Kong- listed steelmaker.
Contract iron ore prices may soar by 60 percent this year as demand from steelmakers increase with the global economic recovery, Morgan Stanley said this month. Chinese steelmakers in 2009 failed in their attempt to cut prices by more than 33 percent in talks with suppliers including Rio Tinto Group.
China, the world’s largest steelmaker, may add 50 million tons of steel capacity this year, Zhang also said. The nation produced a record 568 million metric tons of steel last year, spurred by government spending.
Angang plans to increase output of auto steel to 2.5 million tons in 2010, up from 1.7 million tons a year ago, Zhang said. The steelmaker also plans to boost production of silicon steel, he said.
–Helen Yuan and Feiwen Rong. Editors: Tan Hwee Ann, Indranil Ghosh.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Hobbs at ahobbs4@bloomberg.net
