China's top economic planner warned on 28 January 2022 that it was watching the iron ore market closely, the first sign of a campaign against speculation that would run through much of the year. The National Development and Reform Commission said prices had risen too fast and too far, and that it would crack down on hoarding, price gouging and the spread of false information. Iron ore had climbed on restocking by mills ahead of the Lunar New Year and on hopes of stimulus for construction and infrastructure. The warning marked the start of closer supervision: on 9 February the commission and the market regulator jointly interviewed trading firms and warned against driving prices up, and iron ore futures fell 5.9 percent that day. For steelmakers, the intervention was a reminder that Beijing saw raw material costs as a policy issue, not just a market one, and that it was prepared to act when prices moved faster than supply and demand justified.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News — https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/chinas-development-and-reform-commission-took-measures-against-iron-ore-price-surge-in-2022/
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).