China orders halt on new BHP iron ore cargoes as talks stall

China's state-run iron ore buyer has instructed major domestic steelmakers and traders to temporarily halt purchases of all new BHP Group cargoes, widening an earlier restriction as contract talks between the parties stalled, people familiar with the matter said. The instruction, issued this week by China Mineral Resources Group, applies to US dollar-denominated seaborne shipments from the Australian miner and follows several meetings since late last week that produced no agreement.

The move marks an escalation from measures earlier this month that targeted BHP's Jimblebar blend fines. Under the tightened instructions, mills were told not to take delivery of Jimblebar cargoes at Chinese ports and not to buy those shipments on the yuan-denominated spot market, the people said. The broader pause on new dollar-priced BHP cargoes was reported to include shipments already departing Australia, effectively freezing new dollar-denominated deals while leaving yuan-priced supplies already landed in China available for trade.

China Mineral Resources Group, established three years ago by Beijing, was created to increase the country's influence in global iron ore markets and to strengthen...