According to S&P Global Market Intelligence's mine operating-cost models, the mining industry as a whole now spends US$22/dmt less on producing iron ore than it did in 2013. This is attributed to tightened capital controls, renegotiated contracts and the exit of high cost supply. The production-weighted average cost for the seaborne market was only US$34/dmt in 2016.
A continued global surplus, and projections for steady inventory levels, leads to a cautious market outlook over the next couple of years. The annual average price is forecast by S&P Global Market Intelligence to decline 13.0% in 2018 from the US$66.7/t average expected for this year, followed by a 1.6% fall in 2019.
The CBS report follows recent publication of "
The Iron Ore Market 2017" by The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Material for this report, which examines the market for iron ore in 2016, was provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The UNCTAD report examines last year's marked improvement in iron ore markets after the slower growth, lower ore prices and squeezed profit margins that the industry suffered in 2015
