Dalian iron ore futures prices fell for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, weighed down by a weakening steel market and lingering concerns about demand in top consumer China.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 1.65% lower at 775.5 yuan ($106.61) a metric ton.
The contract hit a low of 771.5 yuan a ton earlier in the session, its weakest level since April 8.
The benchmark August iron ore on the Singapore Exchange, however, was 0.21% higher at $100.8 a ton, as of 0721 GMT.
Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange posted losses. Both rebar and hot-rolled coil fell nearly 1.1%, wire rod ticked down almost 1%, while stainless steel rose 0.57%.
Weak profit margins of steelmakers due to falling steel prices have sparked concerns about subdued demand for iron ore in the near term, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
Chinese steel production fell 1.1% year-on-year to 530.6 million tons in the first half of 2024, World Steel Association data showed.
A lack of further support for China’s property sector after last week’s key political gathering triggered further selling, while easing supply-side issues also weighed on the sector, ANZ analysts said.
Global iron ore miners, primarily in Australia and Brazil, ramped up their shipments in June to deliver better quarterly performance, Mysteel added.
However, an unexpected fall in inventories last week limited the losses in iron ore prices, the ANZ analysts added.
Total iron ore stockpiles across ports in China fell 0.4% week-on-week to 149.6 million tons as of July 19, Steelhome data showed.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE lost ground, with coking coal and coke DCJcv1 down 0.8% and 1.13%, respectively.
China’s top economic planner said on Tuesday it would support high-quality companies to borrow medium- and long-term foreign debt, to support the development of the real economy.
Source: Reuters