SINGAPORE: Iron ore edged lower on Tuesday as traders assessed mixed macroeconomic data from top consumer China, though resilient steel mill profits lent some support.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.43% lower at 696.5 yuan ($97.00) a metric ton, as of 0255 GMT.
The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange fell 1.03% to $93.1 a ton. China’s crude steel output in May slid 6.9% from a year earlier to 86.55 million tons, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.
Meanwhile, new home prices fell in May, extending a two-year long stagnation, official data showed on Monday, highlighting challenges in the sector despite several rounds of policy support measures.
The country’s factory growth hit a six-month low in May, though retail sales, a gauge for consumption, picked up steam, offering temporary relief amid a fragile truce in its trade war with the United States.
While blast furnace production is peaking, profits remain high, and steel mills are not incentivised to reduce production, said broker Galaxy Futures.
Around 60% of blast-furnace steel mills in China reported positive margins as of June 12, said consultancy Mysteel.
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Moreover, port arrival volumes of iron ore fell 8.62% week-on-week to 23.85 million tons as of June 13, Mysteel data showed.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE strengthened, with coking coal and coke up 0.77% and 0.74%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost ground.
Rebar ticked down 0.03%, hot-rolled coil fell 0.13%, wire rod lost 0.67% and stainless steel was down 0.6%.
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