The largest iron-ore producers in Australia, the world’s No. 1 exporter, are raising supply at the slowest pace in years, drawing a line under more than a decade of expansions and lending potential support to prices that are rebounding this year.
BHP Billiton, the third-largest shipper, said Wednesday total output from its Western Australian mines may increase as little as 3% over the next 12 months after notching a 2% gain in the year ended June 30, the smallest annual jump since fiscal 2009. Rio Tinto Group’s shipments this calendar year are seen expanding at the weakest rate since 2012.
