Shares in BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) have plunged 43c or 1.1% in today's trade and are now priced at $37.56. Earlier in the session, the shares sank as low as $37.28 and have acted as an overall drag on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
The plunge can be attributed mostly to the falling iron ore price. While the steelmaking ingredient traded at an average price of US$135 a tonne throughout 2013, it last night fell below US$97 a tonne for the first time in nearly nine months. That represents a drop of around 29% since the beginning of the year.
To make matters worse, the commodity's price is pegged to continue falling, possibly as low as US$80 over the next 12 months. The likelihood of this happening is increased by the fact that the mining majors, including BHP Billiton Limited, Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) are all heavily ramping up their production levels.
Those two stocks have also fallen heavily today and are down 1.8% and 2.4% respectively. Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) has fallen even steeper and is currently down 3.1%.
A better bet than BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton could certainly perform well in the long-run but I'd be waiting until its shares fall further than where they are today before I consider buying. Until then, there is an ASX company which I think is a much more attractive option. In fact, it could quite easily double your money over the coming years.
