Iron ore price edges higher, continues to hover above $US55 a tonne

The iron ore price has inched higher overnight, steeling itself above the $US55 a tonne threshold for another day.

A reclaimer in a stockyard used to move stockpiles of crushed iron ore on a mine site.

The iron ore price has edged a whisker higher, managing not to slip below the $US55 a tonne threshold for another day as it gradually eases back from last month’s peak.

Iron ore added 0.2 per cent to $US55.40 a tonne overnight, according to The Steel Index, from $US55.30 the previous day.

The commodity has been gradually falling from levels in the low $US60s that many analysts see as unsustainable, hovering above the estimate given in May’s budget of $US55 in recent days.

But even after the declines, the steelmaking ingredient remains above several analysts’ predictions for further falls into the $US40s or low $US50s in the short term, given the market remains oversupplied.

Analysts at UBS estimate that if iron ore and other commodities were to hold at current prices, major miners’ earnings would get a boost.

BHP Billiton’s calendar 2016 earnings would be some 41 per cent higher if all commodities held at current levels, rather than falling to UBS estimates, the investment bank predicts.

Rio Tinto’s earnings for the same period would be 10 per cent higher under a spot scenario, UBS said.

The spot iron ore price is 14 per cent above UBS’s calendar 2017 forecast.

In London trade, BHP shares added 1.8 per cent, while Rio rose 2.2 per cent.