RIO Tinto Ltd has reached an iron ore price agreement with major non-China Asian steel mills for April to June, with increases believed to be more than 90 per cent.
A spokesman for the world''s second-largest iron ore producer confirmed that a price settlement had been reached with Asian steel mills, except those in China, but declined to provide further details.
Sources say the price rise has seen iron ore fines rise from about $US62 per tonne achieved last year to around $US110 to $US120 per tonne.
Prices of iron ore lump, which last year settled at about $US71 per tonne, are also believed to have risen by more than 90 per cent.
Unlike previous years, the benchmark prices are only for the period from April 1 to June 30, not for the entire year.
The prices are understood to be based on the quarterly spot prices from January to March this year, when iron ore was trading strongly in world markets.
The world''s three big iron ore producers, Brazilian firm Vale SA, BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto, last year failed to strike an annual benchmark deal with Chinese steel mills.
Instead, the companies sold some of their ore to Chinese mills based on the more lucrative spot price and began moving towards a more fluid price system that may help avoid price conflicts in the future.
According to media reports, Vale SA, the world''s largest iron ore supplier, had already negotiated a 90 per cent price increase in iron ore prices from Japanese mills for quarterly contracts beginning April 1.