Iron ore prices hit new record Champion Iron CEO David Cataford (pointing) in the processing plant at the Bloom Lake iron ore mine in Quebec. Credit: Champion Iron The price for iron ore surged to a record US$237.57 per tonne today as strong Chinese demand continued to outpace supply. The record price levels are supported by a continued supply squeeze, with major iron ore producers reporting seasonally lower output in the March quarter, and growing concern over the escalating Covid-19 crisis in India, which could impact the country’s exports of the metal. “These factors, along with a recovery in ex-China demand, is expected to drive the global seaborne trade balance into a deeper deficit in 2021, with annual prices forecast to average US$153 per tonne,” Ronnie Cecil, principal analyst for metals and mining research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, tells The Northern Miner, although he notes a seasonal rise in Brazilian exports are likely to lower prices in the second half of the year.