Iron ore derivatives forge ahead on Chinese demand

Activity in the Asian iron ore derivatives market is at all-time highs, driven by the emergence of China as the world’s largest consumer of the commodity. In the two years since global mining giants BHP Billiton, Vale and Rio Tinto forced steel makers to abandon the traditional annual pricing standard in order to benefit from rising spot prices, iron ore consumers and intermediaries have made increasing use of over-the-counter and futures markets to buy protection against rising volatility.

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