Welcome to the end of the biggest commodity boom
After basking in the sunshine of higher prices, iron ore faces a blizzard
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OIL, copper, soybeans and a handful of others monopolised the attention – but of all commodities, the humble lump of iron ore benefited the most from the Chinese economic boom of the last 25 years.
It was an astonishing bonanza: From the late 1990s to earlier this year, iron ore prices jumped nearly over ten times, more than any other major commodity; traded volume tripled; Australian commodity tycoons become billionaires; mining companies turned, even briefly, into Wall Street darlings; and mighty legal battles broke for control of the last untapped mineral deposits.
And now, it is over: The greatest commodity boom thus far of the 21st century has ended. China inflated it – and China, too, is bringing it down.
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