China's top economic regulator and its top market regulator have jointly launched an investigation in a move to reinforce futures and spot market supervision of iron ore, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday.

A team of inspectors from NDRC and the State Administration for Market Regulation recently visited the Dalian Commodity Exchange, NDRC said in a statement.

The team and the Dalian Commodity Exchange held a meeting to analyze the iron ore market operations, probe abnormal trading behaviors in the iron ore futures and spot market, and study works on enhancing regulation.

Participating departments and the Dalian Commodity Exchange said they will continue to strengthen the regulation over iron ore futures and spot markets and crack down on market violations and illegal activities, and ensure stability in the iron ore market.

The new move came after Chinese authorities announced a series of measures in response to the recent sharp rise in iron ore prices this year.

Last week, NDRC said in a statement that the government will prevent excessive hoarding of iron ore to keep its price stable, stabilize the industrial chain and ensure the market remains stable. And the government will come up with measures to shorten the free storage period for iron ore traders and boost costs for port-side inventories.

In early February, NDRC announced for the second time this year it will take effective measures to keep iron ore prices stable, pledging to crack down on market violations such as spreading false information and price gouging.