Iron ore dips as worries over Australian supply disruptions ease

SINGAPORE: Dalian iron ore futures edged lower for the sixth session on Monday as fears over supply disruptions dissipated after the Australian iron ore hub resumed port operations after a cyclone warning.

The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.33% lower at 762.5 yuan ($109.98) a metric ton, as of 0258 GMT.

The benchmark March iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.72% higher at $99.75 a ton.

The Singapore benchmark fell below $100 a ton as demand in China slowed ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Iron ore inventory at major Chinese ports rose by 0.58%, data from consultancy Steelhome released on February 6 showed, with portside stocks building in recent weeks as the industry enters the seasonal shutdown period.

Western Australia’s Port Hedland, the world’s largest iron ore export hub, resumed operations at noon on Sunday after being cleared on Friday as tropical cyclone Mitchell developed off the coast of the resource-rich Pilbara region, the operator said.

This is Pilbara’s first major cyclone disruption this year, following a particularly active cyclone season in 2024 to 2025, a report by ANZ research said on Monday.

While the Port of Port Hedland has resumed operations, the ports of Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier, and Varanus Island remain closed, with an alert to be issued once they are safe to reopen, Pilbara Ports said on its website.

Air pollution warnings in China’s key steelmaking region of Hebei have stoked concerns about production cuts, which will further dampen feedstock demand after six cities issued heavy air pollution warnings as of February 8.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE languished, with coking coal and coke down 0.87% and 1.1%, respectively.

Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost ground.

Rebar shed 0.68%, hot-rolled coil softened 0.49%, and stainless steel retreated 0.74%.

Meanwhile, wire rod hardened 0.18%.