Iron ore rises on BHP strike confirmation, higher freight costs

Fortescue

14/07/2026 08:56

Adds analyst comments, updates prices to market close
By Emily Ou Yong

    SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures rose on Tuesday, as an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz lifted freight costs and as confirmation of a strike at BHP's Port Hedland operations added to supply concerns, while strong restocking demand from Chinese steel mills also supported prices.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 closed daytime trade 1.81% higher at 760.5 yuan ($112.17) per metric ton, its highest since June 17, when it touched an intra-day high of 758.5 yuan.
The benchmark August iron ore SZZFQ6 contract on the Singapore Exchange climbed 1.25% to $99.7 per ton, its highest since July 2.
Hundreds of workers at BHP's BHP.AX Port Hedland iron ore operations are set to down tools on Thursday after workers and their elected representatives did not reach agreement with the company, a spokesperson for the Combined BHP Ports Union said.

    "We expect that such strikes will lower shipments by up to two million tons, a level that cannot reverse fundamentals, but this will boost investor sentiment," said an analyst on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to media.
  
The Hormuz closure has also made shipping and input costs more expensive across the board, raising seaborne iron ore costs, a Singapore-based trader said.

    Oil prices 
    rose
     nearly 3% on Tuesday to their highest in four weeks, as the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade of Iran while the two countries stepped up attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, heightening uncertainty about energy flows. O/R
China's iron ore imports rose 15% month-on-month in June to a six-month high of 112.69 million tons, customs data showed on Tuesday.
An increase in shipments from Australia and Brazil coincided with strong restocking demand from steel mills, analysts at ANZ Research said in a note.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed, with coking coal DJMcv1 up 1.2% and coke DCJcv1 down 0.69%.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly stronger. Rebar SRBcv1 gained 0.75%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 rose 0.67%, wire rod SWRcv1 added 0.09% and stainless steel SHSScv1 advanced 1.71%. 
     
($1 = 6.7801 Chinese yuan)

 (Reporting by Emily Ou Yong; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Ronojoy Mazumdar)
 ((emily.ouyong@thomsonreuters.com;))