Iron ore falls as growing shipments weigh
- The benchmark January iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.22% lower at $105.55 a ton
SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures prices declined on Tuesday, as increased shipments from major suppliers Australia and Brazil weighed on sentiment, although lingering hopes of steelmakers in top consumer China restocking cargoes limited the loss.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed morning trade 0.25% lower at 790.5 yuan ($112.92) a metric ton.
The contract touched its highest level since December 3 on Monday.
The benchmark January iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.22% lower at $105.55 a ton by 0417 GMT.
It hit its highest level since November 27 at $106.55 in the previous session.
Iron ore shipments from Australia and Brazil, the world’s two-largest suppliers, rose 8.6% week-on-week during December 22-28, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
Chinese steel mills are expected to book more cargoes in the coming weeks to meet production needs over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday break in February, said analysts.
Meanwhile, Chinese developer Vanke’s bondholders approved its proposal to extend the grace period for the repayment of a 3.7 billion yuan bond, temporarily removing a default risk.
The property market was the largest steel consumer in China, but protracted woes in the sector hit steel consumption, weighing on prices of steel and its feedstocks.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained ground, with coking coal and coke up 1.17% and 1.35%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange moved sideways.
Rebar added 0.16% and stainless steel gained 1.55%.
Meanwhile, hot-rolled coil nudged down 0.06% and wire rod weakened by 1.59%.
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