LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Mining giant Rio Tinto reported a fall in iron ore shipments in the fourth quarter but noted that the Chinese property market was stabilising.
Heavy rains in Western Australia impacted shipments in the three months to December, which were down 1% - slightly missing expectations, Rio said on Thursday.

It added that the Chinese economy still faced headwinds from an ongoing property market oversupply, "although the November data on home sales and prices showed signs of stabilisation following many months of policy loosening".

China's steel mills have been a key market for the mining industry, but a property market crash has hammered demand. Rio noted that market volatility had resulted in an 8% fall in the iron ore price.

Rio also said it had been shipping higher volumes of lower-grade iron ore, known as SP10, as its main mines are depleting. The product accounted for 25% of shipments in the fourth quarter, a trend likely to continue until newer projects come on stream by 2030.

"We are reviewing our future product strategy, having regard to customer requirements and available ore grades," Rio Tinto said.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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