Iron ore price leaps to highest since 2011 Future so bright I gotta wear shades. Image: Tangshan Iron and Steel Group byjunrong / Shutterstock.com Iron ore prices leaped to more than nine-year highs on Friday amid trading spikes and a frenzy for the steelmaking ingredient in China, which the country’s steelmakers have called “unreasonable” and “abnormal.” According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China (CFR Qingdao) were changing hands for $164.39 a tonne on Friday, up nearly 4% from Thursday’s peg. Sign Up for the Iron Ore Digest Sign Up Iron ore is now trading at the highest level since October 2011 and is up 78% in 2020.