Australian
iron ore miner
Atlas Iron has said in its investor presentation that the 62 percent Fe
iron ore price has weakened significantly from the end of December 2013 to date, falling by approximately 32 percent, with the 58 percent Fe
iron ore price index is down approximately 37 percent in the same period.
Atlas indicated that, due to the provisional price mechanism, this downward trend impacts the final price received by
Atlas for certain tonnages delivered in the March quarter and reduces prices received in the current quarter. This trend will reverse when prices trend upwards.
On the other hand, reduced pricing levels allow competitive supply into new markets, and
Atlas achieved its first sale during May for delivery into India, while continuing to assess opportunities into other Asian and European destinations.
According to
Atlas, higher cost producers in China and other countries excluding
Australia and Brazil face challenging economics at current pricing, which will lead to a withdrawal of supply and retighten the market.