Australian miners and Chinese buyers have missed an annual deadline to set benchmark iron ore prices, signaling the end of a 42-year-old system and risking new friction between the major trading partners.
澳大利亚矿主和中国买主错过了就设定年度铁矿石基准价格进行谈判的最后期限，这意味着结束有42年历史的制度，以及主要贸易伙伴之间出现贸易摩擦的风险。
Talks between Australian mining companies and China's steel industry have stalled, after reports that the Chinese demanded cuts in iron ore prices of up to 45 percent.
澳大利亚矿业公司和中国钢铁工业的谈判一直处于僵局之中，有报导说，中国要求削减铁矿石价格，削减幅度多达百分之四十五。
Australia has already agreed to cut prices by about a third for Japan and South Korea for the next year. China's insistence on deeper cuts reflects its growing influence in the resources market and the increased price volatility caused by the global financial crisis.
澳大利亚已同意明年为日本和韩国降价约三分之一。中国坚持进一步降价反映其越来越大的对资源市场的影响力，以及全球金融危机造成价格波动幅度加大。
Industry analysts said China's iron buyers are still angry at a sharp rise in the benchmark level last year. Discussions may have been further complicated by Australian mining giant Rio Tinto's decision to reject a massive Chinese investment in its operations.
业内分析人士称，中国的铁矿石买家仍然对铁矿石基准价格去年急剧上升感到愤怒。谈判可能因为澳大利亚矿业巨头“力拓”决定拒绝中国大规模投资的决定而进一步复杂化。
China is Australia's biggest iron ore customer. The failure to agree on a benchmark that would guarantee prices for 12 months could destabilize the market.
中国是澳大利亚铁矿石最大的客户。未能就保证铁矿石在12个月里的基准价格达成协议可能会导致市场动荡。
Producers could find it harder to plan capital expenditure and buyers would be exposed to price fluctuations.
生产者会更难就资本开支做出计划，而购买者会受到价格波动的影响。
Jonathan Barrett, the managing director of Commodity Broking Services in Australia, thinks the Chinese are trying to exert more control over the commodities sector.
澳大利亚商品经纪服务的执行主任乔纳森巴瑞特认为，中国正试图对商品部门施加更多的控制权。
"I think that they actually want see a lot of their smaller producers and users actually use that market as a means for price discovery, rather than having the concerns over having to find out the price for the entire year. Because if you do fix the price for the entire year then you really haven't got much room to negotiate in terms of the pricing," he said.
“我认为中国真正想看到的是很多小钢铁公司和用户实际上把市场作为一种发现价格的手段，而不是关注是否能够为全年确定价格。因为如果你为整整一年确定了价格，那么你再进行价格谈判方面就无法得到很大的空间。”
Without a benchmark deal, iron ore is sold in the open market, which could leave Chinese steelmakers vulnerable to soaring prices as the world's resources sector recovers from the downturn.
如果没有一个基准价格协议，铁矿石将公开在市场上出售，这可能导致中国钢铁企业容易受到由于世界资源产业从衰退中恢复而带来的价格飙升的影响。
Despite missing the July first deadline, China and Australia could still lock in prices for the next 12 months.
尽管错过了七月一日的截止日期，中国和澳大利亚仍然可以锁定未来12个月的价格。
Media reports have suggested that Beijing has softened its demands for a hefty price cut after failing to reach a deal with its major overseas suppliers.
有媒体报导说，北京在未能和主要海外供应商达成协议之后，已经从要求大幅度降价的立场上软化。
Such an about-turn may reflect nervousness about rising prices on the spot market.
这种转变也反映出对现货市场价格上涨的担心。
So far, there has been no official confirmation from either side as speculation mounts that some sort of deal will be signed by the end of the month.
到目前为止，澳大利亚和中国方面都没有对有关本月底将达成某种协议的揣测作出正式确认。 |