Chinese steel mills have reportedly agreed to the same 33 per cent iron ore price cut as reached by its Japanese and South Korean counterparts.
Bloomberg has reported the China Business News website as saying that the steel mills agreed to a 33 per cent cut in iron ore fines to US97 cents per dry tonne unit and a 44 per cent reduction in lump ore to US112c per dry tonne unit.
The Chinese report did not name any steel mills that had agreed to the price cuts and did not name a source for its report.
The price reductions are in line with what Rio Tinto negotiated with Japanese and South Korean steel mills in May.
China had been holding firm for a larger price discount of around 45 per cent and had allowed the June 30 deadline for negotiations to pass without any conclusion.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson told WA Business News the company would not comment.
It has also been reported that China has agreed to hold iron ore price talks twice a year with talks for the second half, which will take effect in October, now underway.
Traditionally, iron ore price adjustments apply from April 1.
Since July 1, many Chinese steel mills are believed to have been paying the spot price for iron ore, which is higher than the rates agreed to by their rivals in Japan and elsewhere.
