BEIJING: Chinese steel and iron ore futures traded in tight range on Friday, but were all on course for weekly declines due to weak seasonal demand and disruptions from output control speculations.
Benchmark iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, dipped 0.6% to 902 yuan ($139.55) per tonne as of 0330 GMT, following the drop in spot 62% iron ore which plunged $11 to $174.5 per tonne on Thursday.
For the whole week, iron ore futures are set to fall 12.2%, the biggest weekly drop since the week ended Feb. 28, 2020.
“Iron ore and steel prices have started showing signs of weakness after a long-standing rally, with iron ore falling significantly in the past month,” Fitch Solutions wrote in a note.
“Going forward, an improvement in supply and lower consumption by downstream layers will cap price gains for both,” it added.
Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for October delivery, dipped 0.1% to 5,425 yuan a tonne.
Hot rolled coils inched up 0.1% to 5,822 yuan per tonne.
Rebar and hot rolled coils fell 5.4% and 5.6% so far this week, respectively.
Dalian coking coal futures rose 1.6% to 2,371 yuan a tonne.
Coke futures jumped 1.1% to 2,998 yuan per tonne.
Shanghai stainless steel futures, for September delivery, edged 0.1% higher to 18,890 yuan a tonne.
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