On July 20, Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A. (Vale) concluded the iron ore and pellet price negotiations for 2009 with ThyssenKrupp Steel (ThyssenKrupp), the largest German steelmaker.
As the outcome of these negotiations, Vale's iron ore prices for ThyssenKrupp have decreased by 28.2 percent for fines and by 44.47 percent for lumps, relative to the 2008 benchmark prices.
Therefore, the new reference prices per dry metric ton Fe unit for 2009 are US$0.9651 for Southern and Southeastern System Sinter Feeds, US$1.0095 for Carajás Sinter Feed and US$1.0962 for Southern System Lump.
In addition, the pellet price has decreased by 48.3 percent relative to 2008, with the new reference price per dry metric ton Fe unit for 2009 at US$1.1384 for Tubarão blast furnace pellets.
On Friday, July 17, Vale S.A. (Vale) announced that it concluded the iron ore and pellet price negotiations for 2009 with Turkey's largest steelmaker Eregli Demir Celik (Erdemir) and Italian steelmaker Ilva S.p.A. (Ilva). Also, in June, Vale concluded its iron ore and pellet price negotiations for 2009 with Asian steelmakers except China, and reached a deal with steel giant ArcelorMittal. The percentage price decreases for all the above steelmakers are the same as given for ThyssenKrupp.