China steelmakers yet to reach price deal with BHP Billiton

China’s major steel mills have not agreed to an interim iron ore price deal with BHP Billiton, denying earlier reports of such an agreement.
According to a source from a major state-owned steel mill, no price has been agreed between Chinese mills and any of the big three iron ore [...]

Rio Tinto employees will stand trial in China

The four Rio Tinto employees detained by Chinese authorities in July will be prosecuted on charges of bribery and violating commercial secrets.
Prosecutors allege that the four men, including Stern Hu, an Australian national, on multiple occasions solicited and accepted huge bribes from several Chinese steel firms and used improper means to obtain Chinese commercial secrets [...]

China targets US in steel anti-dumping case

The China’s Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) said it had opened an anti-dumping investigation into US steel imports.
The announcement came after seven US steelmakers and the United Steelworkers Union brought an anti-dumping suit against China in April. MofCom said the new case would determine whether US and Russian firms had sold a specialized kind of flat-rolled [...]

China says iron ore in surplus in 2009, price to fall

China’s steel industry expects a surplus of iron ore and falling prices in the global market next year, as the global economic crisis slows economic growth and orders from steel makers. “It’s clear where iron ore prices will be going,” said Liang Shuhe, deputy director of foreign trade at the Ministry of Commerce, at a [...]

Pace of China’s imports slows for second month

China’s import growth slowed for a second straight month in September as the country’s trade surplus rose 12% year-on-year to US$82 billion. The recent decline of global commodity prices after a surge earlier in the year is likely responsible for some of the import slowdown, but it may also be a sign that China’s economy [...]

Steelmakers to cut production

Several large Chinese steelmakers are set to reduce output by about 20% in October to reinforce falling steel prices, citing state media. Shougang Steel, Shandong Iron and Steel, Hebei Iron and Steel and Angang Steel met last week to discuss cuts in production of up to 20 million tons. Steel prices have suffered from a [...]

Sinosteel wins approval for Murchison stake

Iron ore trading company Sinosteel has received approval to purchase up to 49.9% of Murchison Metals, an Australian miner. The stake would be worth US$202 million based on Murchison’s most recent trading price. When announcing the approval, Australia’s Treasurer Wayne Swan said Sinosteel had originally sought to acquire up to 100% of Murchison but then [...]