Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Iron ore is recovering from a three- year low just as Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. start talks with Asian steelmakers to set prices for annual supply contracts.

Prices rose 33 percent since October to $84.50 a metric ton for immediate delivery in China’s spot market after stockpiles in the largest consumer of the metal dropped last month. Reserves fell 22 percent from the record reached in September, while shipping costs more than doubled this year as orders picked up. Imports of iron ore into China rose 6.2 percent in December, customs data show.

China’s steelmakers, which cut production in the second half, are benefiting from the government’s 4 trillion-yuan ($585 billion) stimulus plan to spark slowing economic growth. Shares of Vale, Rio and BHP, which ship 75 percent of the world’s iron ore and depend on China for about 20 percent of their sales, rose more than 50 percent since their lows last year.

“The tone of the iron ore market has definitely changed,” said Ric Ronge, who helps manage the equivalent of $1 billion at Pengana Capital in Melbourne, including BHP and Rio shares. “The outcome might not be so dire.”