China unveils first iron ore price index

China's steel and mining associations on Monday officially published their first iron ore price index, which is expected to better reflect the domestic market and give the country a greater say in global pricing.

The China Iron Ore Price Index was compiled by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters and the Metallurgical Mines' Association of China (MMAC).

The index, released on a weekly basis starting in October, is made up of two sub-indices: the domestically-produced iron ore price index and the iron ore import price index.

Both sub-indices use iron ore prices from April 1994 as their base.

In the first week of October, the iron ore import price index stood at 652.41, down 0.13 points from previous week, according to the CISA.

The average cost, insurance and freight (CIF) price of imported iron ore was 176.22 U.S. dollars per metric ton in the first week of October, down three cents from a week ago.

The domestic iron ore price index remained unchanged at 455.81 from the last week of September, as no bulk trading occurred during the weeklong National Holiday, which began on Oct. 1.

The domestic iron ore price index is based on the prices of iron ore in 14 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as well as in 32 mining areas. The import price index is based on data from eight ports.

Currently, the world's major mining companies use foreign companies' iron ore indices as a reference when pricing their own exports, including the Steel Index, the Metal Bulletin Iron Ore Index and the Platts Iron Ore Index.

China is the world's leading consumer and producer of steel. Its steel output accounted for 44.3 percent of the world's total last year, up from 13.5 percent in 1996, according to data from the CISA