The price of the steelmaking ingredients that generate billions of dollars of profit for the world’s biggest miners have diverged sharply, underscoring China’s grip on global commodity markets and hinting at a pick-up in iron.
While iron ore has tumbled 40 per cent from its record high above $230 per metric tonne in May due to stricter enforcement of steel production curbs, the price of metallurgical coal imported into China soared, reaching $440mt this week, up from $230mt in May, according to an assessment from S&P Global Platts.
The yawning price gap has left investors wondering if iron ore, which is more exposed to speculative activity than metallurgical coal because it is a more easily tradable market, has fallen too far and could rally. It was trading at $140 on Thursday.