Iron ore slides on heightened Sino-US trade tension, China stimulus uncertainty

BEIJING: Iron ore futures prices slid on Wednesday, as a further escalation of trade tension between China and the United States heightened fears on demand outlook while doubts mounted on stimulus prospects following a batch of upbeat Chinese data.

The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) recouped some earlier losses to end daytime trade 0.14% lower at 708 yuan a metric ton.

The benchmark May iron ore on the Singapore Exchange slipped 1.28% to $97.45 a ton, as of 0717 GMT.

China’s economy grew 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, data showed on Wednesday, surpassing estimates, underpinned by solid consumption and industrial output.

Also, China’s new home prices were unchanged in March from the prior month, signaling a slight improvement from February, when prices fell 0.1% month-on-month.

Hopes that Beijing will unveil aggressive stimulus to counter U.S. tariff shocks to achieve its annual growth target somewhat dimmed, putting downward pressure on the ferrous market.

The weakness in prices came despite signs of lower supply and resilient demand.

Iron ore consolidates as market awaits more China data

Rio Tinto reported its lowest first-quarter iron ore shipments since 2019 and warned that more weather disruptions could lead to a 2025 forecast miss.

Brazilian miner Vale produced 67.7 million metric tons of iron ore in the first quarter of 2025, down 4.5% from a year earlier.

China’s crude steel output in March climbed 4.6% from the prior year, incentivised by higher margins and robust exports.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed, with coking coal down 0.77% and coke up 0.26%, respectively.

Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost ground. Rebar fell 1.06%, hot-rolled coil shed 1.05%, wire rod lost 0.72% and stainless steel nudged down 0.08%.

“Steel demand has shown signs of softening from last week; the impact of trade tensions on exports will probably not show up until May,” said Zhuo Quiqiu, an analyst at broker Jinrui Futures.

“Eyes are all on potential stimulus, the timing and scale.”