BHP, Rio Tinto Agree on Iron Ore at $147 a Ton, Nikkei Says

According to Hebei Daily, recently, Shanghai University and Changli County Dongwen Precise Machine Parts Co., Ltd. jointly completed the first development test of hydrogen-enriched smelting technology of blast furnace with pure hydrogen as blowing gas source in China.

Currently, the iron ore prices have been rising rapidly in contrary to the background that the supply and demand in the iron ore market has been stable and the port inventory has also been at a high level.

On February 18, the National Development and Reform Commission and other 11 central departments jointly issued a notice on a series of policies to promote stable growth of industrial economy.

The profits at steel mills increased, boosting the demand for iron ore. Besides, real estate credit policy may marginally loosen, boosting market sentiment and pushing up steel prices. Iron ore futures have risen for several days.  China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, will cut the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage point. Government also released the signal of “stabilising the real estate industry”. Iron ore prices surged 8.66% yesterday supported by multiple factors.

Australian mining giant BHP Billiton said on Tuesday, it plans to cut down cost of Australian iron ore, copper and coal business and increase $1.6 billion capacity in future two years.

During the third quarter of this year, estimated iron ore shipment of Rio Tinto is expected to be higher than anticipation.

China’s plans to build roads, railways and ports in dozens of countries will give a strong boost to steel demand, BHP Billiton said.

Shougang Hierro Peru will put the $1.5 billion worth of iron mine brownfield project into production in H2 2018, which is located in Marcona.

BHP Billiton Ltd.’s net profit was $5.89 billion in the fiscal yaer ending June 2017, compared to $6.39 billion losses in the previous fiscal year.

BHP Billiton’s copper output jumped 71% in Q2 2017 on a quarterly basis to 387,400 tonnes, but down 6% on a yearly basis, according to the company’s report.