SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures prices declined on Monday, pressured by sluggish steel demand and mounting inventories at Chinese ports.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) was 1.51percent lower at 784.5 yuan (USD110.18) a metric ton, as of 0241 GMT.
The benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.07percent lower at USD105.25 a ton. Iron ore futures fell sharply last week as steel mills slowed down restocking ahead of the Chinese National Day holidays from October 1-8, analysts from ANZ said in a note.
Chinese broker Hexun Futures said high steel supply, combined with weak demand, was weighing on the market. Total iron ore stockpiles at ports in China climbed 0.29 percent week-on-week to about 132.5 million tons, as of September 26, SteelHome data showed.
Current high levels of molten iron production, combined with strong port arrivals, suggest that port inventories are likely to rise further, said broker Everbright Futures.
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