SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures fell on Wednesday, weighed down by ongoing weakness in China’s property sector, which overshadowed support from recent government stimulus and infrastructure plans. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.49% lower at 813 yuan ($113.49) a metric ton, as of 0311 GMT.
The benchmark August iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.61% lower at $104.7 a ton. China’s outstanding property loans rose to a two-year high in June, following a series of property measures aimed at stabilising the sector. Despite ongoing policy support, the property downturn continues to weigh on the economy. Property investment slumped in the first half of the year, while new home prices in June posted their steepest monthly decline in eight months. The announcement of a $170 billion hydropower project in Tibet could provide a massive boost to the struggling concrete and steel sectors, said analysts from ANZ.
The project’s costs are projected to exceed those of the Three Gorges Dam by more than four times. Meanwhile, Japan has launched an anti-dumping investigation into stainless steel sheets imported from China and Taiwan, after data showed that these imports were being sold in Japan at prices 20%-50% lower than in China.
This has resulted in Japanese steelmakers struggling to set prices that reflect rising costs, leading to profit declines. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE jumped, with coking coal and coke up 9.24% and 2.22%, respectively.
Coking coal prices remained elevated on rumours of potential government inspections that could lead to supply disruptions, alongside high demand from the hydropower project.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange mostly lost ground. Hot-rolled coil dipped 0.15%, wire rod fell 2.48%, stainless steel edged up 0.04%, and rebar traded flat.
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