Increase in iron ore prices

The price of iron ore and coal, the two most widely used minerals in the world, have been on the rise since mid-2018, even as the US and China raised tariffs. UBS, an investment bank, had expected the base price of high quality iron ore to fall from $ 72 per tonne to $ 68 per tonne, rather than rising to $ 76 per tonne, which it did.

The growth in iron ore appears to be driven by Chinese demand for structural steel used as “reinforcement”, or reinforcing bars that reinforce concrete in high-rise buildings and construction work such as bridges. With the declining exports of manufactured goods to the United States, the Chinese government is backing away from a well-used plan to support the country's economy by stimulating domestic construction.

The rise in iron ore prices is a bonus for large miners like BHP and Rio Tinto, who generate nearly half of their annual mining profits. It will also be welcomed by Australia's richest persona, Gina Rinehart, who has extensive interests in iron ore as both a producer and a recipient of the royalties paid to Rio Tinto. In the year to June 30, Rinehart-controlled Hancock Prospecting increased its net income 28 percent to $ 961 million. Her real-time fortune in November 2018: $ 17.4 billion.