China issues third warning against speculation in iron ore

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's state planner on Wednesday issued its third warning this month against excessive speculation in iron ore, adding it will increase supervision of the country's spot and futures markets.

Iron ore futures in the world's top user of the raw material rallied 5.6% in the first two weeks of the year to a 17-month high of 896.50 yuan ($132.26) a tonne on Jan. 13, as investors bet on surging demand for the steel ingredient as China's economy reopens.

Companies should not engage in price gouging and speculation, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in a post on its official WeChat account.

It issued similar warnings on Jan. 15 and Jan. 6 and summoned iron ore trading and futures companies, ordering them not to selectively quote data and information, deliberately exaggerate price increases or bid up prices.

The most active contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange traded up 0.5% at 838 yuan a tonne at 0157 GMT on Wednesday. [IRONORE/]

($1 = 6.7783 yuan)

(Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Tom Hogue)