[miningmx.com] — BHP BILLITON said it didn’t expect a repeat of the
“spectacular imbalance’ between steel supply and Chinese demand that propelled iron
ore prices to a record high last year, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
This is according to BHP Billiton’s Alberto Calderon, chief executive of aluminium,
nickel and corporate development, in an address to a resources conference in
Canberra.
“We won’t see again this spectacular sort of imbalance between demand and supply
that we have seen. But we still have many good years ahead of us,’ Reuters
Calderon said.
Iron ore peaked at over $190 a tonne last year, but plummeted to a three-year low of
$86.70 earlier this month before a rebound to above $100.
“This doesn’t mean that the boom has ended. But it does mean that to expect that
prices will continue to grow, or even stay at very high growth levels… you will do that
at your our own peril.’
