Iron ore prices should remain well supported for the next 15 years, despite easing fundamentals after 2014, as rising costs pressure producers, London-based multinational financial services company Standard Chartered has stated, as reported by Dow Jones newswires.
Iron ore - currently trading at around $180/mt on the spot market - should reach $200/mt by the end of the fourth quarter this year, analyst Judy H. Zhu said in the bank's latest research note.
"As the supply response will likely be very limited for at least the next three years, it is possible that spot prices will remain above $200/mt at some point between 2012 and 2014, in our view," she said, adding that the bank sees iron ore prices averaging at $181/mt in 2012 to 2014.
"For the next 15 years, we believe that iron ore prices will not return to 2009 levels," Zhu said