China may agree 85 pct iron ore price rise-report

MELBOURNE, May 6 (Reuters) - Senior figures in China's steel industry believe China will concede to Australian demands to include a freight premium in iron ore price negotiations that could see a price rise of up to 85 percent, the Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper cited a senior source at a leading iron ore trader in China saying there was a strong view within the industry that miners will achieve the 85 percent price rise, because Chinese steel mills were paying much higher prices on the spot market compared with the benchmark price.

Asian steel mills' negotiations with the miners on annual term iron ore prices have stalled over the proposed inclusion of a freight premium sought by the Australian miners to offset the higher cost to China of importing Brazilian ore.

Miners BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) are holding out for higher prices than those negotiated by rivals including Brazilian miner Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) (RIO.N: Quote, Profile, Research). ($1=A$1.06) (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger; editing by Jonathan Standing)