Australian opposition urges decision on iron ore issue

Australia's Opposition has urged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to clarify whether or not he supported an iron ore inquiry after apparently doing an about-face on the issue this week.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said on Thursday "more damage is done" every day while the government procrastinated on the issue, and delayed making a decision on whether it will push ahead with an inquiry.

Amid accusations from Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest that the big Australian mining companies, such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, are deliberately driving down prices to squeeze out competition, the federal government has been considering scrutinizing the industry.

The price of iron ore at the Chinese port of Qingdao slipped 1. 41 U.S. dollars to 57.12 per ton on Wednesday, far from the heights of 140 dollars a year ago.

On Monday, the low price of iron ore, a key ingredient in steel making, caused the price of steel in China to drop to its lowest level in 12 years.

Abbott, who last Friday told Macquarie Radio he was in favor of an inquiry, backtracked from those claims this week, warning of a "one-sided" investigation that could "degenerate into a witch-hunt against some of our most important businesses."

Abbott's finance minister, Mathias Cormann, announced on Wednesday he had always been against an inquiry despite making statements earlier in the week implying an inquiry would be a sensible idea.

"Either (Abbott) admits he was wrong and acknowledges the damage the uncertainty he's created has done to the industry, or he fronts up and explains how he wants this inquiry to run," Shorten said. "He has to put it to bed, end his dithering on this issue and bring back some certainty to business, investors and customers." Endi