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China Extends Fortescue Iron Ore Curbs to New Purchases
Key Points
- China widened curbs on Fortescue's Super Special Fines on July 3, extending them from portside inventories to new purchases.
- CMRG told steel mills and traders not to buy new US dollar-denominated cargoes of the product.
- Super Special Fines made up about 45% of Fortescue's shipments in the quarter through March.
China's state-backed iron ore buyer has told domestic steel mills and traders not to buy new US dollar-denominated cargoes of Fortescue Ltd.'s (ASX: FMG) Super Special Fines, widening an earlier curb that covered only portside inventories.
The directive from China Mineral Resources Group, or CMRG, goes beyond a measure reported earlier in the week, under which steelmakers and traders holding the product at Chinese ports were told to take delivery by July 15. Cargoes left at port after that date face blacklisting and logistics restrictions. The account is based on Bloomberg and Reuters reporting.
The move escalates a standoff over pricing for long-term supply contracts between Fortescue and CMRG. Those talks remain deadlocked, according to the reports. Bloomberg said Fortescue declined to comment.
Super Special Fines accounted for about 45% of Fortescue's shipments in its third quarter, which ran through the end of March, based on the figures cited in the reporting. The restriction on fresh purchases therefore reaches beyond port logistics into a large portion of the company's China-linked sales. China is the dominant destination for Australian iron ore.
Stocks of the product at major Chinese ports stood at 7.22 million tons as of June 30, or nearly 5% of total portside iron ore inventories, Reuters reported, citing Steelhome data.
The episode fits a broader effort by China to consolidate buying power in iron ore. CMRG was created to strengthen the country's position in negotiations with major suppliers. Reuters and Bloomberg both pointed to a similar campaign against BHP Group earlier in 2026 that ended in April after an agreement was reached.
BigMint reported that concern about the Fortescue restrictions helped support spot-market sentiment. Iron ore fines were assessed at $98.4 per dry metric ton CFR China on July 2, while Dalian September 2026 iron ore futures traded at RMB737 a ton on July 3.
Some details rest on secondary republication of Bloomberg and Reuters reporting, and the underlying CMRG directives were not published publicly in the material reviewed.
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