Iron ore futures fell on Thursday, snapping a three-day rise, on a stronger supply outlook from rising shipments, although seasonal demand for the key steelmaking ingredient limited the decline.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed 0.28% lower at 720.5 yuan ($98.76) a metric ton.
The benchmark May iron ore (SZZFK5) on the Singapore Exchange fell 0.99% to $99.25 a ton, as of 0703 GMT.
This week, shipments to China rebounded by 178,000 tons and port inventories rose slightly on Monday, said broker Hexun Futures.
The volume of iron ore shipped to China from Port Hedland, the top iron ore terminal in Western Australia, jumped 30.3% month-on-month in March after February’s decline, said consultancy Mysteel.
Still, prices found some support from improved ore demand as steel production gained momentum.
“Improved steel mill profitability saw production recover to 93 million tons in March, keeping Q1 production growth positive,” ANZ said in a note.
The daily average steel production of key steel enterprises was 2.113 million tons in mid-April, growing 3.3% month-on-month, said consultancy Lange Steel, citing statistics from the China Iron and Steel Industry Association.
Broadly, China equities drifted on Thursday as Washington signalled a willingness to lower tariffs against China, but ruled out unilateral moves.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that high tariffs between Washington and Beijing are not sustainable, as President Donald Trump’s administration signaled openness to de-escalate a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
However, Bessent also said Trump would not make that move unilaterally.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained ground, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1) up 0.84% and 1.56%, respectively.
Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell. Rebar RBF1! and hot-rolled coil EHR1! both eased around 0.1%, wire rod (SWRcv1) was down 1.96% while stainless steel HRC1! rose 0.12%.
Source: Reuters