Soaring Iron Ore Prices Draw Attention from Regulators

SHANGHAI, Mar 24 (SMM) – The "crazy rise" of iron ore prices has drawn great attention from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other departments, who believed that speculative activity had played a role. A few days ago, the Price Department of the NDRC announced that it will go to Qingdao Port and Tangshan Port to conduct investigations with relevant parties, and warn iron ore trading companies not to violate laws and regulations, and not to hoard cargoes or deliberately inflate prices. Following the investigation, specific punishment measures may be taken in the future. Iron ore is one of the bulk commodities, and other commodities that have attracted attention from regulators include coal, crude oil, and agricultural products. Abnormal price fluctuations in these fields will have an important impact on basic commodity prices, and threaten to destabilise the economy. This is also an important reason why the NDRC and other departments have repeatedly issued warnings about price speculation in the iron ore market.