Iron ore fell to $ 38.30 per ton on Friday

Ore with 62 percent iron on Friday fell to $ 38.30 a dry tonne at Qingdao port. This is evidenced by data from Metal Bulletin.

The record drop in prices was driven by overproduction of ore and a reduction in steel production in China, whose factories are the largest consumers of iron ore in the world.

In November, Chinese metallurgists reduced steel production by 1.6 percent - to 63.32 million tons, and over 11 months, steel production in the PRC fell by 2.2 percent - to 738.4 million tons.

Iron ore prices are down 46 percent this year after BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group in Australia and Vale SA in Brazil announced production expansion.