Iron ore prices have flourished again despite a downward dive following Beijing’s promise to curb the mineral’s unabated market growth. Spot prices launched to an unprecedented, all-time high of US$230 per tonne earlier in May, followed by a sharp decline by 20 percent to US$183 two weeks later. However, values once again surpassed US$200 at the beginning of June and currently sit close to US$208. Australian Minister for Resources Keith Pitt stated in April that rising global iron ore prices came from strong production and demand from China—the world’s largest steel manufacturer—compounded by shortfalls of supply from Brazil, the second-largest exporter of the resource after Australia. However, prices proceeded to plummet after crackdowns by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which accused the domestic industry sector of hoarding, monopolisation, price gouging, and other corrupt market practices. In a message to commodity companies, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)—the CCP’s top economic planner—along …