BEIJING: Iron ore prices were range-bound on Thursday, as investors weighed potential supply risks stemming from the threat of a strike by some workers at BHP’s iron ore operations against seasonally weakening demand in top consumer China.
The most-traded iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade 0.27 percent higher at 745.5 yuan (USD109.72) a metric ton.
The benchmark August iron ore on the Singapore Exchange ticked down 0.13 percent at USD98.9 a ton, as of 0800 GMT.
Hundreds of workers at BHP’s Port Hedland iron ore operations in Western Australia could walk off the job next week, marking the biggest industrial action there in decades.
That has fueled worries from steelmakers and traders, among others, about potential supply disruption in the world’s largest bulk export port.
Also, analysts expected supply from major producers to decline somewhat as the wave of rush shipments to meet quarterly guidance ended.
However, seasonally weakening steel demand and shrinking steel margins prompted some mills to begin equipment maintenance, resulting in lower steel output and reduced feedstock demand, which curbed price gains.