Indian steel demand expected to drop 7.7% in 2020

After five trying years, RAB Capital Founder and President Philip Richards sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Prices must overshoot relative to marginal production costs in order to trigger mine closures on a sufficient scale."

Rio Tinto said Vale conspired to "steal" the Australian giant's massive Simandou concession in Guinea.

Unless demand picks up or more miners cut output, prices for raw materials are set to stay low for years, or worse, continue to drop, the investment bank predicts.

A miserable $400 million down from a high of $4.6 billion in 2012.

The Baltic Dry Index which tracks bulk shipping rates on more than 50 routes around the world drops to lowest since 1985.

The biggest drops were in the construction sector in Latin America (-41%) and in the resources industry in Asia (-37%).

Year to date gold is one of the better performers, but rhodium comes off worst.

“The floor of this market is in the hands of the top five mining companies."