Reports have emerged that China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG), a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled iron ore buyer, ordered local steelmakers and traders to suspend purchases of all new cargoes from the world’s largest mining company, BHP.
This caused BHP’s shares to slip 1.5 percent to $41.88 (US$27.68) at midday AEST, having also dropped in London (-2.2 percent) and New York (-0.8 percent) overnight.