Major Australian steel producers
BHP Billiton and
Rio Tinto have managed to get a price hike of 9% for
iron ore shipments, at the end of their negotiations with the Japanese steel mills.
These companies have been pushing for price increases in 2003, along with CVRD, based on the strong demand for
iron ore, particularly from
China. CVRD, of course, had managed to get a similar 9% increase from Arcelor, also within this week.