China’s Iron Ore Crackdown Sparks Rout as BHP Sees Price Support
- Beijing trying to damp speculation with demand poised to rise
- BHP boss Mike Henry sees extremely volatile prices ahead
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Iron ore plummeted as Beijing ramped up a campaign to stop prices overheating, prompting BHP Group Ltd. -- one of the world’s top producers -- to caution that supply and demand will determine prices.
Prices tumbled as much as 13% in Singapore on signs that authorities in China will intensify efforts to quell a big rally since mid-November. Several iron ore companies received a warning about speculation and hoarding at a meeting with regulators in Beijing, while the official China Daily newspaper railed against what it called “guerrilla war” by speculators in China and outside.