The price of iron ore has slipped in offshore trade as investors weighed a mixed quarterly production report from mining giant Rio Tinto.
At the end of the latest session, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US50.00 a tonne, down 0.2 per cent from $US50.10 a tonne.
On Thursday, Rio downgraded its iron ore export forecast for 2015 by 10 million tonnes, largely due to the impact of wet weather in the first half.
On the surface it appears a bullish signal for prices, but the world's second largest iron ore miner will actually be ramping up activity in the second half, with the downgrade relating to events beyond its control that have already taken place.
Indeed, prices shot up in May and early June to $US65 a tonne as it became clear high-grade product was temporarily in short supply, but it has since slumped as low as $US44.10 a tonne as Rio's full production came back online and concerns were raised about the strength of the Chinese economy.
Rio stock gained 1 per cent in London trade despite the guidance cut.
Source: Business Spectator
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