Aug 9, 2011 (Bloomberg)-- Vale SA (VALE5), the world´s largest iron-ore producer, expects prices for the steelmaking material to remain "strong" because of demand in emerging countries such as China and India, Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira said.

Iron-ore prices aren't changing amid the rout in equities and commodities markets worldwide, Ferreira said today in an interview in Salvador, in the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Nations with large populations and rising middle classes will continue to demand commodities, he said.

"These countries have a big hunger for raw-materials so I believe the market will continue strong," Ferreira said on the sidelines of an economic seminar between Brazilian and Japanese businessmen. "If we continue this trend, we will have the third consecutive quarter without altering prices," he said.

Prices for iron-ore sold by Vale averaged $145.30 a metric ton during the second-quarter, an increase of 58 percent from the same period a year earlier, the company said July 28. The price of ore with 62 percent iron content delivered to China, which gained about 71 percent in the past two years, fell less than 1 percent to $177.8 a metric ton today, according to Steel Business Briefing Commodities Research.

Vale gained 1.86 reais, or 5.1 percent, to 38.40 reais in Sao Paulo trading today amid a market rebound in Brazilian stocks. The stock has fallen 20 percent so far this year, less than the 26 percent loss for the Brazilian benchmark Bovespa index.