Australian miners see cooling Chinese demand

Australian iron ore miners said at a conference Tuesday that commodities demand from China was beginning to cool, a sign that the country’s economy is slowing, Reuters reported. “The [Chinese] economy is shifting, it’s changing. Steel growth rates will flatten and they have flattened,” said Ian Ashby, president of BHP Billiton’s (BBL.NYSE, BLT.LSE, BHO.ASX) iron ore division. Ashby added that demand for iron ore, a component of steelmaking, will slow to single-digit growth, but China’s steel output could still rise by around 60% by 2025. David Joyce, managing director of expansion projects at Rio Tinto (RIO.NYSE, RIO.LSE, RIO.ASX), said that while growth in China was slowing, he did not anticipate a “hard landing.” A slowdown in China could have ramifications for Australia’s economy, which exports nearly 500 million metric tonnes to the country each year.