The iron ore world may be gradually getting used to the seismic shifts it has experienced over the last year, but the market is still in a state of flux and it's not clear yet what structure will eventually emerge. Last year, the major three iron ore exporters- Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Vale- which control about 70% of the seaborne market, changed the four-decade-old annual negotiated pricing system to one allowing quarterly price adjustments based on existing spot market indices (even of the supply contracts is till annual or longer). Even if they initially objected , their steelmaking customers had little choice ultimately but to go along with this arrangement.
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