Iron Ore Sees Gains on Possible Australian Strike

Bloomberg reported that iron ore made minimal gains following a 20-month low yesterday. Prices were supported by news that a strike at Australia’s Port Hedland could affect iron ore exports. The resource has fallen 27 percent so far this year, but the Australian port strike could put a dent in the expected global surplus, according to Bloomberg.

As quoted in the market news:

Ore with 62 percent content delivered to the Chinese port of Tianjin advanced 1 percent to $98.50 a dry ton today, data compiled by The Steel Index Ltd. showed. Prices yesterday fell to the lowest since September 2012. Mining operations may start winding down after two days of strike action because stocks at Port Hedland are reasonably high, BHP’s iron ore president Jimmy Wilson told reporters in Perth today.

Analyst at Standard Bank Plc in London, Melinda Moore, said:

A port strike of more than three to four days would support a rally in prices. We see the latest price rout as being overdone and can envisage a price rally back toward $105 a ton.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg article.