(Reuters) -China’s state iron ore buyer has told major steelmakers and traders to temporarily pause purchases of any dollar-denominated seaborne iron ore cargoes from BHP, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
China is the world’s largest iron ore consumer and buys about 75% of global seaborne iron ore, while BHP is the world’s largest listed miner. State-owned iron ore buyer China Mineral Resources Group was established in 2022 as part of Beijing’s efforts to bolster its pricing power in iron ore.
Last month, BHP said that its annual profit fell to the lowest in five years as sluggish demand from China weighed on iron ore prices and flagged a cut in capital and exploration spending.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that CMRG had urged the country’s steel mills to suspend purchases of BHP’s Jimblebar blend fines after talks on long-term contracts faltered. Bloomberg said on Tuesday that the latest direction from CMRG was an expansion of these earlier curbs.
BHP Group did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. CMRG did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
(Reporting by Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru and Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona. Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)
