CUTTING’S THE NEW PROFIT:

With cost cutting now baked into numbers, the main drivers of relative profitability in the iron-ore sector will be foreign exchange lifts, freight, premiums and discounts for grade and quality. So says London mining analyst firm Liberum Capital, which says that these variables will determine the marginal producer and long-term price. Liberum analysts Ben Davis and Richard Knights expect benchmark fines prices to fall, but the premiums for higher grade lump and pellet and freight rates to rise. The firm is lowering its long-term iron-ore price assumption to $50/t and has ‘sell’ recommendations on all iron-ore companies.