The Post-Internationalization Evolution of the Price Discovery Pattern in China’s Iron Ore Markets

Previous literature provided evidence of a negative impact of internationalization on the quality of China’s iron ore futures market within a 6-month window (i.e. June 1, 2018 to November 31, 2018), but little is known on the long-term impact. Using a longer, 4-year-7-month window from June 1, 2018 to December 30, 2022, we examine the market’s price discovery function, an important measure of market quality. We find significant structural break in China’s iron ore data series in August 2021, which largely coincide with a period of rising commodity prices to all-time high. Before the breaks, the price discovery function of China’s iron ore futures appears quite weak, with the spot market leading the futures market, which is consistent with the findings of Fan et al. During the post-break period, however, the futures market demonstrates a stronger price discovery function and takes over the leading role. The day-of-the-week effects in iron ore futures also seem to weaken post-break as well. Our GARCH model results exhibit significant bi-directional volatility spillover between the futures and spot markets.