BEIJING, May 22 (UPI) -- China is complaining about a 19-percent iron ore price hike imposed by Brazilian and Australian exporters.
The biggest iron ore exporters late last week managed to raise the world price of iron in deals with Japanese and European steelmakers, among them Germany's big ThyssenKrupp AG, the International Herald Tribune reported Monday.
That left Beijing with no choice but to complain, which it did: The government's China Daily media agency said the price hike could sharply cut demand.
"When over-capacity is looming in China's steel industry, rising ore costs that further bite into domestic steel makers' profits could turn the current boom into a bust and no one will benefit," an editorial in the China Daily said.
Traditionally, Japanese or European steelmakers strike a new price with ore suppliers in annual negotiations, which becomes the world benchmark price.
The world's three biggest iron ore miners, CVRD of Brazil, Rio Tinto Group of Australia and the Anglo-Australian company BHP Billiton, control 70 percent world supply.
