Iron Ore Miners Seek Monthly Contracts, Trader Says (Update1)

BEIJING, Sept. 7 -- The China Iron & Steel Association is in talks with iron ore producers seeking to price the raw material on a monthly basis, according to China Minmetals Corp., the nation's biggest metals trader.

A move to monthly pricing from quarterly would increase the chance of Chinese steelmakers defaulting on contracts, Minmetals' Vice President Feng Guiquan said today at a conference in Beijing.

Rio Tinto Group, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Brazil's Vale SA, which account for three-quarters of global iron ore trade, this year ended a 40-year custom of setting annual prices in favor of quarterly agreements as they bet on rising prices. Falling steel prices in China may force mills to curb output and default on contracts, Baosteel Group Corp. said in June.

"For iron ore importers it is very difficult to lock in the purchase cost, and buyers of iron ore may default on contracts in the face of price volatility," Feng said. Minmetals imported more than 14 million metric tons of iron ore and 11 million tons of coal last year, he said.

Iron ore sold by BHP and Rio will post its first price decline in three quarters as automakers and builders in China cut orders for steel, according to researcher UC361.com.

Contract prices are set to fall 11 percent to $129 a metric ton in the quarter starting Oct. 1 from the previous three months, said Hu Kai, an analyst at UC361.com, citing Platts index prices.

Ruban Yogarajah, a London-based spokesman for BHP, declined to comment. Gervase Greene, a Perth-based spokesman for Rio Tinto, wasn't immediately able to comment.