Australia's Department of Industry in its latest assessment of commodity exports, prices.
- Expects the price of iron ore to remain high for the next two years
- Also expects Australia to become the world's largest gold producer
- Exports of commodities expected to be upwards of 250bn AUD in the year ahead
- department is effectively predicting a benchmark iron ore price of about $US93 per tonne in mid-2021.
Further:
- expects continued disruption to Brazil's ability to supply iron ore
- ''Significant growth in Brazilian short term supply remains unlikely due to the wider problems of COVID-19 across the Brazilian economy''
- ''The main risk to prices is thus on the demand side.''
- The department predicted iron ore would hold around $US100 a tonne "over coming months" and would gradually decline to be closer to $US85 a tonne by June 2021.
