Australia Set for Budget Windfall After Iron Ore Prices Soar
- Government assumes prices will fall to $55/ton by end 3Q
- Spot prices top $150 on Chinese demand, constrained supply
This article is for subscribers only.
Australia stuck with a conservative iron ore price forecast in its latest budget update, even as prices surge, setting the country up for a windfall that may bolster its recovery from a pandemic-driven hit to the economy.
The world’s biggest iron ore exporter assumes prices will drop to $55 a ton free-on-board by the end of the third quarter of next year, one quarter later than assumed in its October budget. That compares with more than $150 a ton last week, it said in its update, amid surging demand in China and supply problems in Brazil.