Iron ore futures prices posted their biggest daily fall in nearly two years on Wednesday, weighed down by prospects of stronger global supply and weakening Chinese steel demand.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 4.12% lower at 675.0 yuan ($95.13) a metric ton, marking its steepest daily fall since Oct. 31, 2022. Chinese markets were closed on Monday and Tuesday for a holiday.
The benchmark October iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.85% lower at $90.50 a ton, as of 0723 GMT.
Goldman Sachs on Monday cut its iron ore price forecast for the fourth quarter of 2024, citing market oversupply, even though demand from China is stabilising.
“We note potential price support from pre-Golden Week holiday restocking over the next two weeks, but a continuing build in total iron ore stocks is setting the scene for another price drop in October,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note, referring to China’s annual week-long holiday next month.
The volume of iron ore dispatched to global destinations from 19 ports and 16 mining companies in Australia and Brazil during Sept. 9-15 jumped 12.3% week-on-week to hit a more than two-month high of 29 million tons, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
Meanwhile, China’s crude steel output in August declined for the third straight month as steelmakers grappled with losses from a decline in steel prices, data showed on Saturday.
Property prices fall further as land sales stay at seasonal multi-year lows, leaving little room for steel demand recovery, said ANZ analysts.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE posted losses, with coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 down 1.29% and 0.83%, respectively.
Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were weaker. Hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 dropped about 1.7%, rebar SRBcv1 lost 1.44%, wire rod SWRcv1 shed around 0.8%, and stainless steel SHSScv1 ticked about 0.1% higher.
Source: Reuters