Iron ore prices came back from the dead Wednesday, after hitting an almost two-year low earlier this week, as BHP Billiton warned that potential strike action by tugboat workers at Australia's biggest iron ore port would cost exporters of the steelmaking ingredient USD 94 million a day in lost sales.

Iron ore with 62% content delivered to the Chinese port of Tianjin climbed 1% to USD 98.50 a dry ton, according to data compiled by The Steel Index, after hitting Tuesday its lowest since September 2012.

The Port exported 34.8 million tonnes in April, an increase of 33% from the same month in 2013