Posted on 26 Aug 2010
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, on Wednesday signalled a looming slowdown in global steel-making raw materials markets due to overproduction of steel.
"With global steel production running ahead of real demand in the quarter ended June 2010, we expect output to soften from the record highs achieved in April this year," BHP said.
"This will impact near-term demand for steel-making raw materials, however the fundamentals remain strong in those commodities, particularly iron ore, where there is a lack of low cost supply response expected over the next one to two years," the world No. 3 producer of iron ore said.
BHP, which has made a $39 billion hostile bid for top global fertilizer maker Potash Corp, also reported a 47 percent rise in second-half profit, in line with analysts' forecasts.
