Baosteel agrees to big price increase with BHP

BHP Billiton, the world’s third-largest iron-ore exporter, won a 97% price increase from Baosteel Group, matching an agreement reached between fellow Australian exporter Rio Tinto Group and Chinese steelmakers last month, Bloomberg reported. Baosteel, China’s top steelmaker, will pay the higher prices in the 12 months starting from April 1. The Melbourne-based company said is was seeking to settle agreements with the rest of its Chinese customers and other nations. Iron-ore prices have surged almost fourfold since 2001, largely because of high demand from Chinese steelmakers. China buys about 50% of BHP’s iron-ore output and 55% of Rio’s.