SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures fell for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, as an accident at a Chinese steel factory triggered concerns over demand for the steelmaking ingredient.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 1.44percent lower at 786 yuan (USD112.92) a metric ton, as of 0250 GMT. The benchmark February iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.63 percent lower at USD104.66 a ton.
An explosion at a steel plate factory in China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia on Sunday killed six people and left 84 people injured, Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union, whose subsidiary owns the factory, said in a stock exchange filing earlier on Monday.
News of the accident stoked fears amongst investors over a decrease in hot metal output, and of imminent government safety checks of steel mills across the country, which would impact demand for feedstocks.
It is expected that the accident may affect two blast furnaces, with daily average hot metal production of approximately 16,000 mt, the Shanghai Metals Market said in a note.
BHP Group has accepted lower prices for some iron ore during annual contract negotiations with China, it said on Tuesday, as it reported record first-half production of the key steelmaking ingredient. BHP, the world’s largest listed miner, reported a 9percent rise in its second-quarter iron ore output relative to the first quarter on Tuesday.