Iron ore price, page-9696

Some commentary the Australian.



The price of iron ore may jump beyond $US100 a tonne, according to CBA, after Brazilian miner Vale said it was temporarily shuttering an extra 30 million tonnes of output after a deadly dam breach ten days ago.

Prices have jumped to $US87 a tonne from $US75 a tonne following the Feijao mine disaster in Brazil over concern the loss of a sizeable chunk of output will squeeze supplies for major buyers of the raw material used to make steel.
“The court order to shut an additional 30m tonnes of Vale’s iron ore production could see iron ore prices spike above US$100/t,” CBA analyst Vivek Dhar said.Major Australian iron ore producers advanced today with Rio Tinto up 3 per cent to $89.30, BHP gaining 1.8 per cent to $35.62 and Fortescue Metals Group rising 4.3 per cent to $5.98.
CBA raised its 2019 calendar year iron ore price forecast by 19 per cent to $US82 a tonne and increased its 2020 forecast by 9 per cent to $US71 a tonne.The Vale cuts of 30m tonnes from its Brucutu mine, made in compliance with a Brazilian court order, are in addition to a curtailment of 40m tonnes already announced last week.However, CBA said it expects Vale will successfully challenge the latest court order which may shorten the length of any price spike.