Iron ore futures prices fell on Wednesday, as prospects of firmer global supply and softer Chinese demand overshadowed stronger trade data from the top consumer.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 1.88% lower at 782.5 yuan ($109.92) a metric ton.
The benchmark November iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.09% lower at $104.8 a ton, as of 0705 GMT.
Brazilian miner Vale VALE3.SA reported on Tuesday a 5.5% increase in its third-quarter iron ore production compared to a year earlier, reaching the highest level in almost six years.
“Expectations are that major exporters will indicate recent supply disruptions are past them and the outlook for further gains is strong,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
Vale is one of the world’s top iron ore suppliers and its readings came ahead of production reports this week from other major exporters, including BHP and Rio Tinto.
Meanwhile, China’s iron ore imports in September rose 2.7% from August and 2.9% from the year before, as bookings were encouraged by lower prices and hopes for improved demand during the peak construction season.
Steel exports jumped 25.93% to 10.15 million tons, the highest for a single month since July 2016.
The climb in exports was mainly driven by better gross profit in the export market than the domestic one, the China Iron and Steel Association said.
Beijing on Tuesday announced it will hold a press conference on Thursday to discuss promoting the “steady and healthy” development of the property sector, rekindling hopes of further policy easing to underpin a broad economic revival.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were weaker, with coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 down 3.54% and 2.89%, respectively.
Most benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost ground. Rebar SRBcv1 lost 1.15%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 shed 0.97% and wire rod SWRcv1 dipped 0.24%, while stainless steel SHSScv1 strengthened 0.36%.
Source: Reuters
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