will crack 3 dollars today, page-5

$3 was always going to be a big hurdle but needed to go through it and consolidate which it is doing now. Build a nice base here at present level for the inevitable next push through $3 and then stabilise above it. Volumn has dropped but this has been the pattern lately prior to pushing on again.

The following is from yesterday Australian, all good for the future as a producer!

IRON ore doubling in price next year? Extraordinary idea, but one sector analyst (unnamed, unfortunately) told the New York oil and metals news service Platts that prices could double following 2008 contract price talks, which have begun in Tokyo.

Unlikely, but analysts' estimates have been creeping up. They started predicting a 10 per cent raise. Then, a little later, the analysts settled on a "consensus" of about 25 per cent, and now Macquarie Bank has upped the ante by predicting a 50 per cent increase.

There are signs that supply constraints are going to be a continuing headache.

It was reported at the weekend that India's exports could be down 15 per cent this year because of problems at two big iron ore ports, Mormugao and Paradip.

Brazil is diverting increasing amounts of its production to feed its fast-growing domestic steel industry. Crude steel output there for the first nine months of this year was up 10 per cent year-on-year, so it will pay to follow the local iron ore sector closely to judge which companies will ride the wave.

Producers in box seat

EXISTING producers are clearly in the box seat, provided their projects perform.