印度开征铁矿石出口税 加剧供应紧张

Iron ore prices have surged to near a 1½-year high after India, the world's third largest exporter, slapped an export tax on the commodity used to produce steel.

在印度开始征收铁矿石出口关税后，铁矿石价格飙升，逼近一年半高位。印度是铁矿石这种炼钢原料的全球第三大出口国。

The imposition of the 5 per cent export duty over Christmas, combined with strong global demand and low domestic production in China, have pushed iron ore prices up almost 30 per cent in the past month, traders and brokers said.

交易员和经纪商表示，印度在圣诞节期间开始对铁矿石征收5%的出口关税，加上全球需求强劲以及中国国内产量偏低，推动铁矿石价格在过去一个月里上涨近30%。

The cost of the benchmark Australian ore – 62 per cent iron content – rose yesterday to $124.80 a tonne, including freight, according to swaps data from the Singapore Exchange. It is the highest level since September 2008.

据新加坡交易所(Singapore Exchange)数据，昨日，基准的澳大利亚铁矿石（铁含量为62%）价格涨至每吨124.80美元，为2008年9月以来的最高水平。

“The Indian export tax has contributed to tighten the market,” said Michael Gaylard, an iron ore broker at Freight Investors Services in London.

Freight Investors Services驻伦敦铁矿石经纪商迈克尔•盖拉德(Michael Gaylard)表示：“印度征收出口关税，令市场吃紧。”

The introduction of the export duty also highlights how iron ore, a commodity that in the past almost never attracted attention as prices were stable and supplies were considered abundant, is slowly becoming a sensitive geopolitical issue.

印度征收铁矿石出口关税也表明，铁矿石正慢慢成为一个敏感的地缘政治问题。过去，这种大宗商品几乎从未引起注意，因为价格稳定，供应也显得充足。

Jim Lennon, a commodities analyst at Macquarie in London, said India wanted to discourage iron ore exports and protect supplies for its own steel industry with the tax.

麦格理(Macquarie)驻伦敦大宗商品分析师吉姆•列农(Jim Lennon)表示，印度希望借助关税抑制铁矿石出口，保护本国钢铁行业的供应。

Some analysts believe that the steel-intensive urbanisation of emerging countries means that iron ore is now more integral to the global economy than any other commodity, with the exception of crude oil.

一些分析师认为，新兴国家在工业化过程中需要消耗大量钢材，这意味着，对全球经济来说，除了原油以外，铁矿石如今比哪一种大宗商品都更加不可或缺。

China is the world's largest importer of iron ore and Beijing is very sensitive to the cost of the mineral. India supplies about a fifth of Beijing's overseas purchases.

中国是全球最大的铁矿石进口国，北京方面对这种矿物的成本极为敏感。中国进口的铁矿石中，约五分之一来自印度。

The rally in ore prices comes as miners Vale of Brazil, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton and global steelmakers start their price negotiations for the 2010-11 contracts.

在铁矿石价格飙升之际，巴西淡水河谷(Vale)、力拓(Rio Tinto)以及必和必拓(BHP Billiton)等矿业企业正同各国钢铁公司启动2010-11年铁矿石合约价格谈判。

译者/何黎