Vale’s second-quarter production due next week may offer clues on whether the world’s largest iron-ore producer could provide some relief to a market reeling from shortages that sent prices to a five-year high.
Analysts, on average, expect the Rio de Janeiro-based miner to report that output of the steelmaking ingredient rebounded to 74.6-million metric tons, from 72.9-million in the three months ended March, according to five estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s still below the 96.8-million tons Vale produced in the second quarter last year.