Iron ore value keeps dropping, industry giants likely to collapse: analysis
Iron ore prices recorded a 10-year low overnight to $43.40 - a dip that will affect high-cost producers in Australia and prompt their collapse, a resource analyst claimed.
The issue triggering falling iron ore values is a supply one, as increased output from miners fail to match slowing demand from China, Australia's largest export client. Iron ore prices recorded in the same period in 2014 was around $71, according to the data from Thomson Reuters.
Iron ore reached its maximum unit of $191 in February 2011, which lifted the number of suppliers and enhanced their mines. This growth allowed new mining players to enter into production, but this has contributed to today's supply overflow.
“The mining boom in iron ore is certainly well and truly over, and that is because we do see steel demand in China slowing, we do see that country slowing economically and of course their steel industry, as a key part of that sector, is also slowing,” Lennox said, as reported by the ABC.
Fortescue Metals Group has shown a drop of 24 percent in 2015, while Rio Tinto saw prices slumping by 18 percent. BHP Billiton has also recorded a 25.5 percent decline in prices, which crossed the minimum mark of $20 a fortnight ago, before trading at just $19.84 on Wednesday.
“We would expect that we will see some seasonal pick up as we move into the northern summer, but unfortunately the steel sector does look as though it’s in for a prolonged downturn,” Lennox added.
The fluctuating rates of global currencies is another factor affecting the value of iron ore. The recent Samarco disaster at BHP Billiton’s plant in Brazil has also led to the lowering value of the ores.
Meanwhile, The U.S. Fed Reserve is expected to increase interest rates in December, which will directly affect the U.S. dollar. This could lead to further rises in commodities as most are generally priced in USD, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.