Threat of cyclone hitting Australian iron ore region eases

SYDNEY, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The threat of a tropical cyclone developing off Western Australia's Pilbara iron ore district has eased, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday.

On Monday, a tropical low in northwest Australia had shown signs of developing into a cyclone early on Tuesday, leading to the closure of key iron ore shipping terminals ahead of the storm.

"The system is no longer expected to develop into a tropical cyclone," the bureau said on Tuesday.

Ships were evacuated from the ports of Dampier and Port Hedland on Monday in anticipation of the cyclone.

Any interruption in iron ore shipments from the key ports of top supplier Australia could support prices of the steelmaking raw material, which are mired near 5-1/2-year lows in a world market awash with supplies from big Australian miners.

Iron ore shipped via Port Hedland, which handles about a fifth of the world's seaborne iron ore trade, totaled nearly 40 million tonnes in December, most of which was mined by BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group

The Dampier port is used by Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) to ship ore.

The threat of a cyclone did little to lift the price of iron ore overnight. The benchmark 62-percent grade iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port stood at $67.80 a tonne , near a 5-1/2 year low of $65.60 reached in December.

Pilbara Ports Authority said it was monitoring the weather in the area and would provide an update when available. (Reporting by James Regan; editing by Andrew Roche)