China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has suggested that the global miners have been manipulating the iron ore market by holding back cargos, artificially creating a supply shortage in the market, according to media reports.
China's national planning agency said that the world's top three miners have triggered an 80 percent increase in iron ore prices over the past six months. Australia-based BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, and Brazil's Vale are the top three global iron ore producers, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the world's iron ore output.
Meanwhile, BHP Billiton has responded to the claims, stating that it is committed to a transparent market. The miner said that it produced record volumes of iron ore in the second half of 2012 and sold all the iron ore produced.
By September 2012, iron ore prices had fallen to $95/mt CFR China, the lowest levels of the last three years, while they currently stand within the range of $145-150/mt CFR China.