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PrintGlobal iron ore prices are expected to trade in a range just below current levels in the fourth quarter and beyond, miners Vale and Fortescue Metals Group said, reflecting optimism Chinese demand will stay resilient.
Jose Carlos Martins, executive director for ferrous and strategy at Brazil's Vale, said demand growth in China, the world's top iron ore consumer, was likely to moderate next year, but did not expect any big decline.
Speaking on the sidelines of an industry conference, he said that a recovery in the United States and Europe would create a "better environment for iron ore consumption outside of China" predicting a range of $120-$130 a tonne in the fourth quarter.
Martins said the expansion plans of the world's biggest iron ore miner remained intact, with Vale planning to raise annual production capacity to 480 million tonnes by 2018 from 306 million tonnes this year.
Iron ore producers remain dependent on China, which imports around two-thirds of global seaborne supplies, but Chinese officials see slower growth in demand and a subsequent supply glut to force prices into a long-term decline in coming years.
Liu Xiaoliang, secretary general of the Metallurgical Mines' Association of China, said the increase in supplies would drive prices down to around $100 per tonne by 2015, though that would in turn squeeze high-cost domestic producers out of the market.
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