iron ore price going up

NMDC Raises Contract Iron-Ore Prices in India by 40%

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- NMDC Ltd., India's largest iron-ore producer, raised local prices of the key steelmaking raw material by as much as 40 percent, following global peers and increasing the pressure on mills.

Prices of fines were lifted by as much as 10.5 percent and lumps by as much as 40 percent, Chairman Rana Som said today in a telephone interview from the southern city of Hyderabad, where the company is based. The increase will be backdated to April 1.

NMDC Chairman Rana Som is increasing prices to close the gap with international rivals such as Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd., which have doubled their rates this year. Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's biggest iron-ore producer, wants to charge Asian mills more to match what European steelmakers are paying.