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Iran sanctions begin disrupting iron ore trade to China

February 10, 2012 - 01:00 GMT Location: Shanghai

KEYWORDS: China , iron ore , Iran , sanctions

China’s iron ore traders are turning more cautious in buying iron ore from Iran, amid concerns that deals could be disrupted by tighter sanctions against the country.

"I have to admit that things are getting hard at the moment, and we are preparing ourselves for all eventualities," a source at a Shanghai trading company said. The company claims to import around 2 million tpy of iron ore from Iran. "Our trading volume of Iranian material has reduced somewhat, and we only co-operate with reputable suppliers to minimise the underlying risks," he said. Some market participants downplayed the effect of potential disruption, given two factors: the small overall market share held by Iranian ore, and the relatively weak state of the market at present. Iran delivered 16.67...

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