Iron ore futures snapped a three-day rally on Tuesday amid strengthening supply outlook from top producer Australia, but resilient steel demand in China cushioned the fall.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.42% lower at 703 yuan ($97.97) a metric ton.
The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange lost 0.71% to $93.2 a ton as of 0725 GMT.
Rio Tinto, the world’s largest iron ore producer, is entering a joint venture with Hancock Prospecting to develop the Hope Downs 2 project in Western Australia.
The two iron ore pits will have a combined total annual production capacity of 31 million metric tons, Rio said in a statement.
Meanwhile, iron ore shipments from Australia and Brazil jumped 8.8% week-on-week during June 16-22, the highest since June 2024, Chinese consultancy Mysteel said.
Hot metal production, a gauge of iron ore demand, rose 0.24% to 2.422 million tons week-on-week as of June 20, data from Mysteel showed.
“Volumes have stayed around 2.4 million tons since April, suggesting resilience in the world’s largest steel market,” ANZ analysts said.
Still, the steel market is pricing in expectations of weaker seasonal demand, Hexun Futures said.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE fell, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1) down 1.94% and 2.03%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost ground. Rebar RBF1! and hot-rolled coil EHR1! dipped about 0.5%, wire rod (SWRcv1) fell 0.9% and stainless steel HRC1! eased 0.28%.
Source: Reuters