News: RIO UPDATE 1-Rio Tinto quarterly iron ore shipments fall 5% on weak China demand

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Jan 18 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO) RIO.L on Tuesday reported a 5.4% drop in its fourth-quarter iron ore shipments, hit by a delay in completion of a new greenfield mine in Western Australia and lower demand from top consumer China as it looks to cut carbon emissions.

A delay in production from the new greenfield mine at Gudai-Darri as well as labour shortages in Western Australia due to prolonged pandemic-led interstate border closures resulted in lower iron ore shipments from the Pilbara region.

Meanwhile, China's efforts to rein in its red-hot property market has led to a significant cooling down in the sector, denting demand for raw materials, including iron ore.

That, coupled with China's attempts to reduce carbon emissions, has weighed on steel output, resulting in iron ore prices nearly halving from a peak hit in May of last year.

The world's biggest iron ore producer shipped 84.1 million tonnes (Mt) of the commodity in the three months to Dec. 31, roughly in line with a UBS forecast of 84 Mt but down from 88.9 Mt a year earlier.

Rio forecast iron ore shipments from Pilbara of between 320 Mt and 335 Mt in 2022, compared with the 321.6 Mt it shipped in 2021 and a UBS estimate of between 330 Mt and 340 Mt.