The Financial Times reported that miners were hoping to delay any agreement in annual negotiations with steelmakers.
The executives said that annual iron ore benchmark prices for the year beginning April 1st are still expected to fall, but by waiting longer than normal, they hope to avoid a large cut.
One of the executives was quoted by the newspaper as saying that “The longer the spot price implies a drop in annual benchmark prices, the more difficult it will be to avoid a cut.”
Negotiations between the world’s top producers Brazil’s Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton and steel mills led by Baosteel of China traditionally settle between March and April.