中国需求前景提振铁矿石价格

The price of iron ore has risen to its highest level in more than a month, outperforming other industrial commodities such as oil and copper as traders bet on stronger demand from China.

铁矿石价格上涨至一个多月来最高水平，表现强于石油和铜等其他工业大宗商品，交易商押注中国需求将转强。

Benchmark Australian iron ore with 62 per cent iron content rose to $139.25 a tonne yesterday, according to Platts. That is the highest since early May and up 4.7 per cent in the past fortnight.

普氏能源(Platts)调查显示，含铁量为62%的澳大利亚基准铁矿石价格日前上涨到每吨139.25美元，达到5月初以来的最高水平，过去两周的涨幅达到4.7%。

In contrast, Brent crude oil prices have slid 7 per cent over the same period, while on the London Metal Exchange aluminium prices were down 3.9 per cent and copper prices were up just 1.1 per cent.

与此形成反差的是，同期，布伦特(Brent)原油价格下跌了7%，伦敦金属交易所(LME)铝价下跌3.9%，铜价只上涨了1.1%。

The rise in iron ore prices will be a boon for miners such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Vale, whose share prices have been under severe pressure as investors fear a global downturn driven by the eurozone debt crisis.

对于必和必拓(BHP Billiton)、力拓(Rio Tinto)以及巴西淡水河谷(Vale)这些矿业公司来说，铁矿石价格的上涨是一个利好消息，此前由于投资者担忧欧债危机带来全球衰退，导致这些公司的股价近期处于严重压力之下。

The share price of Rio, for whom iron ore makes up three-quarters of underlying earnings, has fallen more than 20 per cent since mid-February.

自2月中旬以来，铁矿石业务贡献四分之三基本盈利的力拓股价下跌逾20%。

Iron ore prices have been buoyed by tentative optimism over China, where inventories have been falling and businesses are hoping for a government stimulus after Beijing cut benchmark interest rates for the first time since 2008.

铁矿石价格受到有关中国的初步乐观情绪的提振，中国铁矿石库存量近期在下降，同时自中国官方2008年以来首次降低基准利率之后，企业正期待着政府出台刺激措施。

Moreover, at last month’s price lows of $132 a tonne, the highest-cost Chinese iron ore miners are unprofitable, analysts say.

此外，分析师认为，由于上月铁矿石价格处于每吨132美元的低位，中国那些成本最高的铁矿石企业很难盈利。

Nonetheless, traders remain wary of the possibility of a sharper fall in prices should the eurozone crisis trigger a broader global slowdown.

然而，如果欧元区危机引发全球整体放缓，可能引发价格剧烈下跌，交易商仍担心这种可能性。