China to prevent 'excessive hoarding' of iron ore to cool prices

[BEIJING] Chinese authorities will prevent "excessive hoarding" of iron ore and guide port firms to ensure that traders of the commodity bring inventories back to a reasonable level as soon as possible, the powerful state planner said on Wednesday.

The decision follows a symposium called by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the market regulator, ports association and some port firms, according to an NDRC statement.

"The meeting studied measures including greatly shortening the free storage period for iron ore traders, raising costs of portside hoarding, and preventing excessive hoarding," said the statement.

China's state planner has issued six statements since late January targeting fast-rising prices of the steelmaking ingredient, urging information providers to ensure the accuracy of published data and trading firms to release high stockpiles.

The most-traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for May delivery, had tumbled more than 15 per cent since the first NDRC notice and been volatile in the past week.

They closed down 0.8 per cent on Wednesday to US$110.65 per tonne.

Stocks of imported iron ore at Chinese ports stood at 160.95 million tonnes as of Feb 18, weekly data compiled by SteelHome consultancy showed, the highest since June 2018. REUTERS