Billions of dollars were wiped off the market value of the world’s biggest mining companies yesterday after fresh concerns about slowing demand from China prompted one of the steepest falls in the price of iron ore on record.
Benchmark iron ore delivered into China dropped 8.3 per cent to an 18-month low of $104.70 a tonne – its second-biggest one-day percentage fall on record – according to the Steel Index price reporting agency.
Iron ore is the main commodity used in steel making and is critical to the profitability of mining companies such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Vale. They are spending billions of dollars expanding operations to meet expected demand for steel from Chinese construction projects.
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