Australia's iron ore miners are bouncing today after the commodity rose 1.5% on Friday to US$63.19 a barrel, according to the Metal Bulletin Ltd.
The falling iron ore price has caused some huge headaches for Australia's miners and their shareholders over the last 14 months, with the commodity having plunged more than 50% in that time, from around US$135 a tonne. It sank as low as US$61.20 last week which was its lowest price since May 2009.
The falling price has been caused by diminishing demand which has coincided with a heavy increase in production from the world's largest miners. Stocks in the sector have been slammed in that time as a result, but some are performing strongly today.
Here's how the miners are faring on the market.
- Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) up 8.7%
- Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX) up 5.3%
- Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) up 2.4%
- BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) up 1%
- BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI) up 0.9%
- Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) down 0.6%
Investors should note that numerous analysts have called for the commodity's price to fall even further over the course of 2015, which would likely result in more pain for investors holding onto the miners' stocks. Despite today's strength, investors would be wise to steer clear of the sector and instead consider some of the market's safer opportunities.
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