Prices of iron ore shoot up as speculators weigh in

Shanghai

WITH a huge global steel glut and slowing demand in China, an enormous recent spike in the price of iron ore has left analysts scratching their heads, with some even claiming a flower show might be to blame.

But observers say the extraordinary movements for one of the world's basic bulk commodities have been fuelled by something far more prosaic than daisies and daffodils - simple speculation.