Iron ore prices have hit an all-time high as supply disruptions in India, the world’s third-largest exporter of the steelmaking commodity, tighten the market just as Asian steelmakers rush to buy ahead of the Chinese New Year.

The spike will add further inflationary pressures to the global economy as the cost of the commodity filters into steel prices and, ultimately, into the cost of everyday goods such as cars and washing machines. But it will also boost the profit-ability of the world’s largest iron ore miners: Vale of Brazil and London-listed Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

The three miners will release their results for the second half of 2010 next month and analysts are expecting them to deliver billions in dividends after iron ore prices rallied.