Australia's Iron Exports to Drop for First Time in 18 Years
- Price forecast for 2019 revised 20% higher by government body
- Steel production in China heading for a record this year
A freight train carrying iron ore travels along a rail track towards Port Hedland, Australia.
Photographer: Ian Waldie/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Iron ore exports from Australia are set to post the first annual drop in almost two decades following bad weather and output setbacks, worsening a global shortage and bolstering prices that have already surged to a five-year high. Futures advanced.
The world’s top shipper cut its 2019 forecast to 814 million tons from 867 million in March and boosted its estimate for this year’s average price by almost 20%, according to a report by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science on Monday. That would be the first contraction since 2001. Last year, Australian exports totaled 835 million tons.