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 Se desploman los precios del mineral de hierro infographic
El gráfico muestra los precios del mineral de hierro a través de los años.
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MATERIAS PRIMAS

Fin de los días de gloria de las exportaciones de mineral de hierro

By Ninian Carter

August 19, 2024 - La bonanza de un alza de décadas en el precio del mineral de hierro está por terminar, mientras China evita las grandes inversiones y la construcción de vivienda dando un giro hacia una economía de servicios.

Since China’s industrialisation boom in the early 2000s, commodities such as oil and coal have surged in value by hundreds of percent.

But iron ore has been by far the biggest winner, rising by 937% since the mid-1990s – more than any other major commodity.

Now, the bonanza is over following China’s shift towards a service economy – away from heavy investment and housing construction. China inflated the boom and now it’s taking it down again.

As a result, iron ore, which is smelted to make steel, has fallen below $100 a tonne (down 55% from its 2021 all-time high of almost $220 a tonne) – still way higher than the 1980-2000 average price of $12.50 per tonne.

At current prices, the top mining behemoths can still turn a profit – for example, it costs Rio Tinto about $21 a tonne to excavate iron ore from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. But if prices fall towards $50 a tonne, the fortunes of Rio and other big producers like Vale, BHP, Fortescue, and Anglo American could suffer.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 19/08/2024; STORY: Graphic News
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