ASX slides despite iron ore record as Wall Street drops from highs; Afterpay considers US share listing

By business reporter Rhiana Whitson, wires

5 hrs ago

Iron ore prices reach record high

Iron ore prices have risen to the highest level since 2011 at $US181.20 a tonne.

At current exchange rates, the spot price for high quality ore into China is around $233 a tonne, which is a record in Australian dollar terms.

Spot prices have been rising because of strong steel demand from an acceleration of housing construction in China, according to Commonwealth Bank commodities researcher Vivek Dhar.

"Margins are tracking at levels last seen in 2018," he said.

"The remarkable resiliency of China’s steel mill margins is noteworthy and indicates just how strong China’s steel demand is right now."

Mr Dhar said he expects growth in housing construction to remain resilient, albeit easing a bit in 2021.

Despite the record iron ore prices, Australia's mining giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue were all down between 0.2 and 0.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, Rio Tinto said its first-quarter iron ore production fell 2 per cent as labour shortages and tropical cyclone Seroja affected its mine and port operations.

The company shipped 77.8 million tonnes of the commodity compared with 72.9 million tonnes last year.