On August 18, Anhui Province-based Chinese steel producer Maanshan Steel Group announced that in the first half of the current year its net profit was RMB 586 million ($91 million), slipping by 70.2 percent year on year.

As Maanshan Steel stated, during the given period the increase of its operating costs caused by higher raw material prices offset the growth of its operating income, resulting in a reduction of its profit.

In the first six months of the current year, the average import price of iron ore in China was $160.9/mt, rising by 46.4 percent compared to the same period of 2010, marking a new historic high.