Iron ore falls on rising shipments, lower new bank lending data

SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures fell on Tuesday as Australian supply recovered from disruptions caused by Cyclone Narelle, with weak lending data and no signs of fiscal easing weighing on sentiment. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.46percent lower at 755.5 yuan (USD110.80) a metric ton, as of 0257 GMT.

The benchmark May iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.39percent lower at USD103.2 a ton. China’s imports of iron ore in March rose 11.5percent from the prior year, customs data showed on Tuesday.

The world’s largest iron ore consumer brought in 104.74 million metric tons of the key steelmaking ingredient last month, data from the country’s General Administration of Customs showed.

Global iron ore shipments increased by 844,000 tons from April 6-12 compared to the week before, with shipments from top producers Australia and Brazil increasing by 2.335 million tons, data from consultancy Mysteel showed. Supply disruptions from Cyclone Narelle have largely been resolved as Australian shipments recover, pressuring iron ore prices lower.

In addition, new bank lending in China jumped less than expected in March, while broad money and financing growth remained sufficient to support economic expansion, signaling the central bank is in no rush to ease policy.

China’s economy likely regained some momentum in the first quarter on solid exports, but growth is expected to cool over the rest of 2026 as the Iran crisis threatens to choke corporate profits and sap overseas demand, a Reuters poll showed.

In news, the European Union reached a preliminary deal on Monday to nearly halve steel imports and impose 50percent tariffs on excess shipments to protect the bloc’s steel industry from overproduction elsewhere.

Last year, the main sources of steel imports into the EU were Turkey, South Korea, Indonesia, China, India, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed, with coking coal up 0.19percent and coke down 0.09percent, respectively. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed. Rebar lost 0.16percent, hot-rolled coil traded flat, wire rod was up 0.12percent and stainless steel declined 0.21percent.