Iron ore giant BHP Billiton expects Chinese steel consumption growth to slow next year and has already adjusted its strategy to cope with a supply glut that has caused global prices to collapse, executives said on Thursday.

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“We anticipated the change towards current market conditions and the rebalancing of supply and demand after a period of massive expansion and a time when supply struggled with demand, we saw these changes coming a long way off,” Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie told reporters.

On Wednesday, December 10, the day’s biggest mover was the US HRC futures contract 3-month price, which saw a 0.3% increase to $618.00 per short ton. The spot price of the US HRC futures contract flattened at $616.00 following two-days of declines.

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Chinese steel prices closed flat for the day. The price of iron ore 58% fines from India hit a high price of CNY 840.00 ($135.76) and a low price of CNY 840.00 ($135.76) per dry metric ton. Chinese HRC held its value on Wednesday at CNY 3,060 ($494.57) per metric ton. The price of Chinese coking coal was unchanged at CNY 1,080 ($174.55) per metric ton.

The cash price of steel billet held steady on the LME at $500.00 per metric ton. The 3-month price of steel billet remained essentially flat at $480.00 per metric ton on the LME.