When Rio announced third-quarter production figures from its Australian base overnight yesterday, the shares were marked up on solid performances across its mineral interests. Chief of these is iron ore from Pilbara in Western Australia, most of which goes to China and is therefore tied to that country’s economy and in particular its construction programmes. It did no harm that China’s central bank pumped £33 billion into its financial system this week in the hope of jump-starting a post-pandemic recovery.
Analysts at JP Morgan Chase said: “China steel demand has proven more resilient as infrastructure offsets poor property sector demand and excess output is finding its way to the export market.”
They expect iron ore prices to rise by 6 per cent this year, 13
