China iron ore futures drop on Tangshan curbs, steel resilient amid firm demand

BEIJING: Chinese iron ore futures dropped more than 6% on Monday after top steelmaking city Tangshan pledged to cut emissions by 50% during the heavy pollution period and punish those who fail to implement production curbs.

The most-active iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange , for May delivery, slumped as much as 6.3% to 1,005 yuan ($154.55) a tonne, the lowest since Feb. 8. The contract fell 4.2% to 1,028 yuan by 0330 GMT.

Prices for other steelmaking ingredients also slumped on concerns of further output controls.

Dalian coking coal futures dived 4.1% to 1,470 yuan per tonne.

Coke futures were down 3.6% to 2,216 yuan, after hitting as low as 2,208 yuan a tonne, the lowest since Nov.5, 2020.

Steel futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, however, were range-bound.

China's property and infrastructure investment surged 38.3% and 36.6% in the first two months, respectively, the statistics bureau said.

Industrial output in the world's second-largest economy also beat market expectations in the Jan-Feb period helped with brisk recovery in the manufacturing sector.

Construction rebar on the Shanghai bourse dipped 0.5% to 4,734 yuan a tonne.

Hot rolled coil, used in cars and home appliances, gained 0.2% to 5,023 yuan a tonne.

Stainless steel futures slipped 0.4% to 14,000 yuan a tonne.