MANILA: Iron ore prices were on track for a fifth straight weekly fall on Friday, as worries over weak demand for the raw material in top steel producer China outweighed hopes for an easing of financing curbs in the country's debt-laden property sector.
The most-traded iron ore for January delivery on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 2.6% to 541 yuan a tonne by 0330 GMT and was on track for a weekly loss of 3.8%. Iron ore's front-month December contract on the Singapore Exchange slumped 4% to $88.80 a tonne and was down 2.9% from last week.
Spot iron ore in China traded at an 18-month low of $90 a tonne on Thursday, down nearly 5% this week, according to SteelHome consultancy data. Traders turned cautious after a relief rally in China's ferrous futures markets on Thursday driven by China Evergrande Group making
last-minute coupon payment to some bondholders and talks of a potential credit easing in the property sector. The sector accounts for about a quarter of domestic steel demand.
"The question is more on implementation details," analysts at J.P. Morgan said in a note, referring to the potential credit-easing measures. Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed 1.5% after a 5% jump in the previous session, while hot-rolled coil dropped 0.7%. Stainless steel slipped 0.2%. Dalian coking coal slid 3.9%, while coke retreated 2.5%.
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