Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., a US iron ore and coal producer, is anticipating lower prices and volumes of iron ore shipped in the fourth quarter.
The Cleveland-based company (NYSE:CLF) said Thursday that the 2011 price it receives for US iron ore will come in at $120 per ton in Q4, which is driving its full-year pricing outlook toward the low end of its revenue per ton guidance of $135 to $140. The weaker price was caused by the mix of iron ore shipped and retroactive pricing adjustments for certain contracts, the company stated.
Full-year sales volume in its Eastern Canadian iron ore segment is also expected to be down, to 7.4 million tonnes from its previous 8-million-tonnes outlook. The lower volume was a result of lower pellet sales resulting from equipment outages at the Wabush mine, Cliffs said.
Volume from its Asia Pacific segment is also expected to be down by .2 million tonnes, and cash costs from those mines are up slightly to $66 per ton.
Cliffs Natural Resources stock was off 1.79% in New York on the news.
On the upside, Cliffs said 2011 coal production and revenue per ton from its North American coal operations was higher than expected.
The company will publish its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 15.
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