China Publish Iron Ore Index to Break Monopoly

An Iron ore index has now been launched here in China.

As CRI's Wei Tong reports, it's designed to give Chinese companies a bigger say over the pricing of the key component¹ in the production of steel in the international market.

 
The index consists of two sub-indices, to track the domestic iron ore prices and import prices.

China Iron and Steel Association says the data collecting system is running well as the iron ore index had its trail operation in August.

The steel industry maintained fast growth in the first half of the year, with steel output reaching 350 million tonnes, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier
Zhu Jimin, Chairman of China Iron and Steel Association, says soaring iron ore prices have squeezed profits of China's steel producers.

"During the first eight months this year, China imported 448 million tons of iron ore, an increase of 10.6 percent. The average CIF price of iron ore rose 37.5 percent to $164.36 US dollars per ton, an increase of $44.8 US dollars per ton compare to last year. The cost of the iron ore industry went up nearly 130 billion yuan because the companies had to pay more than $20 billion US dollar due to the price increase."

Nearly 60 percent of China's domestic consumption relies on import.

From 2001 to 2010, the country's iron ore import rose from 90 million tons to over 600 million.

Zhou Wangjun, an official with China's National Developmet and Reform, says the new index is imminent² as the country's iron ore demand surged.

"China can't have a bigger say in the price bargaining because it does not has strong information of the cost price of iron ore. It leads to the rising price of the raw material and the drop of the companies' profit, the huge increase of the foreign exchange payment."

The majority of the world iron ore resources are monopolized³ by Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

The world's three-largest iron ore producers last year abandoned a 40-year custom of annual pricing in favor of quarterly agreements as spot ore prices surged last year.

Zhou Wangjun says the new index would help to break the monopoly.

"The establishment of the iron ore index would help to form a expected price, which can lower the cost of steel companies and break the monopoly by world's large iron ore producers. It is significant to enhance China's bargaining ability."

The index will be published on a weekly basis starting from October 1st.

For CRI, I am Wei Tong.

1 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

2 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

3 monopolized   

v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营

参考例句：

• Men traditionally monopolized jobs in the printing industry. 在传统上，男人包揽了印刷行业中的所有工作。
• The oil combine monopolized the fuel sales of the country. 这家石油联合企业垄断了这个国家的原油销售。 来自互联网