The mining company BHP Billiton on Wednesday announced record iron ore production for the quarter, but said a clear picture on demand from major market China had yet to emerge.
The
Anglo-Australian group said output of the key steel-making ingredient
rose 11 percent over the previous quarter to 30.1 million tonnes for
the three months ending September 30 and was up 1.0 percent over the
same period in 2008.
"Production was higher than the June 2009 quarter, reflecting improved performance at Western Australia Iron Ore and all three pellet plants at Samarco (Brazil) operating since July 2009," BHP said in a statement.
BHP
Billiton said there had been increasingly positive news across most
economies, with China experiencing robust economic growth due to strong
domestic demand and stimulus spending.
"China's re-stock of
commodities is essentially complete and there is now evidence of higher
than normal stockpiles across the supply chain," it said.
"We continue to look for Chinese imports to more closely reflect real demand over the remainder of 2009 calendar year."
But
the mining giant said there was little evidence of sustainable demand
for metals emerging yet in advanced economies amid the global economic
slump.
"We maintain our view that real demand follow-through in
developed economies may not be transparent until mid-2010 calendar
year," it said.
The diversified miner said its best-ever iron ore output came as a major expansion drive placed a drag on production.
But
the figure failed to meet some analysts' expectations, particularly
after rival Rio Tinto earlier this month said its output for the same
quarter was up 12 percent compared with a year earlier.
"I thought it might surprise on the upside and it didn't do that," ABN AMRO analyst Warren Edney told Dow Jones Newswires.
But
Austock analyst Tim Gerrard said the figures indicated a healthy iron
ore trade relationship between China and Australia, despite tensions
over the arrest of a Rio Tinto executive in Shanghai earlier this year.
"The
market was jumping at shadows a couple of months ago when the Rio
people were detained and people were expecting the worst," Gerrard said.
"There were fears that the Chinese were not taking as many shipments but all of that has come to nought."
BHP
Billiton also said it achieved record petroleum production -- up 18
percent over the September 2008 quarter to 41.2 million barrels of oil
equivalent -- due to the success of projects in the US and Western
Australia.
But it said full production of copper and uranium at
its Olympic Dam project in South Australia would not resume until next
year after the haulage system was damaged in an accident.
BHP
shares closed down eight cents, or 0.20 percent, at 39.83 dollars while
Rio Tinto dipped 20 cents, or 0.30 percent, to 66.60 dollars in a
market that closed slightly lower.