An Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior official said on Monday that the strait was closed and that Iran would fire on any ship trying to pass, Iranian media reported, sending oil prices and shipping costs rocketing higher.
The most traded iron-ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade up 0.67% at 753.5 yuan ($109.32) a metric ton.
The benchmark April iron-ore on the Singapore Exchange was down 0.21% at $99.05 a ton, as of 0734 GMT.
“Right now, we are seeing an increase in freight costs, which is affecting many markets,” said Tomas Gutierrez, head of data at consultancy Kallanish Commodities.
Rising freight costs raised costs for iron-ore and therefore aided-ore prices, said analysts.