In response to a request from the Brazilian securities regulator Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), Brazilian iron ore giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) has issued an official announcement saying that it does not confirm rumors circulating in the market regarding a price adjustment of 20 percent for iron ore.
The announcement came right after some media sources, on September 3, reported that Vale issued Chinese steel customers with a supplementary contract, increasing the benchmark iron ore prices for 2008, which were originally negotiated in February, by around 20 percent.
Vale stated that as part of its ongoing business, it is constantly dialoguing with clients with the purpose of setting satisfactory mutual conditions for commercial contracts, involving among other factors, quality, volumes and time for delivery.
The company also said that it is currently developing projects to add new capacity of high quality iron ore in order to meet its client needs, and also to reach an annual production capacity of 450 million mt by the end of 2012. The company is implementing substantial investment projects at new mines and the enlargement of its railroad and port infrastructure.