Iron ore price holds firm at $US58 a tonne as exports lag

The iron ore price has paused for breath following its recent winning streak, treading water at $US58 a tonne overnight.

A mine worker watches as a haul truck is loaded by a digger with material from the pit at Rio Tinto Group's West Angelas iron ore mine in the Pilbara. (Photographer: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg)

The iron ore price has taken a breather after its recent strong run of gains, but is managing to hold steady as exports look lacklustre.

Iron ore settled at $US58 a tonne overnight, according to The Steel Index, the same as the prior day. The commodity has now posted eight sessions in a row of only gains or steady trade, following a slide from mid-August that suggested some of the heat was coming out of the market.

Analysts continue to expect prices to fall in an oversupplied market. Macquarie research attributes the continued price strength to disappointing shipments.

“One reason for iron ore prices continuing to see good support is sluggish export performance from Australia and Brazil,” Macquarie said in a research note.

“Weekly port data we track shows that since the start of September to the week ending 16 October combined shipments have been running down ~1 per cent year on year.

“Shipments so far this month are also down 1—2 per cent from September run rates.”

The note comes as BHP Billiton yesterday reported flat iron ore output of 58 million tonnes in the three months to September 30. But the miner expects increased volumes of the commodity to support cash flow over this financial year.

Rival Rio Tinto is set to report quarterly production this morning, with Deutsche Bank predicting a 5 per cent increase in iron ore output and noting the ongoing ramp up of its Pilbara mines.

In London trade, BHP shares rose 0.5 per cent, while Rio added 0.3 per cent.