The Tubarão-Qingdao freight rate, the reference for the transportation of iron ore from Brazil to China, has reached $30.65 a metric ton (mt), the highest since March 2024, according to a report by Banchero Costa brokers.
This price is 57 percent higher than was reported two months earlier, having increased by 28 percent since the February 28 beginning of the war in the Middle East.
As the usual iron ore Brazil-China route has not been affected by the conflict, expert sources consulted by SteelOrbis mentioned that the increase reflects combined uncertainty and higher fuel costs.