China Knowledge quoted an insider from a large Chinese steel company said there will be a significant increase in steel prices in the next few months as Chinese steel mills could see a surge of 70% or more in the prices of raw materials.
The insider said that China iron ore contract price talks with the world's leading suppliers have entered the final stage and that the suppliers have asked an increase of between 70% and 80% in the price of iron ore and an increase of between 80% and 100% in the price of coke.
According to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs earlier the average price of imported iron ore was USD 79.8 per tonne in 2009 down by 42%YoY and the value of imported iron ore was USD 50.51 billion in total last year.
The country imported 627.78 million tonnes of iron ore last year 41.6% more than the 443.45 million tonnes it imported in 2008 due to increasing demand for the mineral.