ASX iron ore majors shrug off quality downgrade amid US-China trade relief
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The news: Shares in Australia’s largest iron ore miners were higher in afternoon trading despite an impending ore quality downgrade, as prices for the commodity rose amid progress in US-China trade talks.
The numbers: At 1:50pm AEST, Australia’s three largest mining companies were all up. BHP’s share price had increased 1.56% to $39.08, Fortescue’s share price was 3.16% higher at $16.17, and Rio Tinto’s share price had risen 0.25% to $109.39.
The iron ore index futures price on the Singapore Stock Exchange had risen 0.71% to USD95.05 ($146.17).
However, S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Platts is set to lower the ore quality on the IODEX iron ore benchmark from 62% to 61% in January, largely due to a decline in the quality of supplies from Australian miners.
The context: After two days of trade negotiations in London, US and Chinese officials agreed on a framework to remove China’s export controls on rare earth materials and related magnets as a part of efforts to enact a trade war truce reached in May.
