💎 Fed’s first rate cut since 2020 set to trigger market. Find undervalued gems with Fair ValueSee Undervalued Stocks

UPDATE 1-Iron ore sags with Chinese steel as equities slide again

Published 15/09/2015, 05:35 pm
© Reuters.  UPDATE 1-Iron ore sags with Chinese steel as equities slide again

* Chinese stocks fall sharply on economy worries

* Iron ore futures in China, Singapore drop

* Spot iron ore slips from 10-week high (Adds China stocks, updates prices)

By Manolo Serapio Jr

MANILA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in China slid more than 3 percent on Tuesday and those in Singapore also dropped along with Chinese steel prices as investors sold off risky assets on persistent worries over a slowing economy.

China's equities led the slide, with key indexes falling about 4 percent. .SS

Iron ore for January delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 , the most traded contract, closed down 3.2 percent at 392.50 yuan ($62) a tonne, pulling further away from Friday's 10-week high of 417 yuan.

The October contract on the Singapore Exchange SZZFV5 slipped 1.3 percent to $53.46 a tonne.

"Steel demand is not great I agree, but mills keep producing and as long as you keep producing you keep pressure on steel prices," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.

Steel consumption in China, the world's top consumer, has continued to shrink after dropping in 2014 for the first time in more than three decades, and this year, the market remains oversupplied, forcing many producers to sell more overseas.

The most-active January rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 dropped 1.3 percent to 1,909 yuan a tonne.

The sustained steel production should support iron ore prices, traders said, which have largely stabilised above $50 a tonne since recovering from a decade-low of $44.10 in July.

Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI fell 1.7 percent to $57.50 a tonne on Monday, reported the Steel Index (TSI), citing a large gap between bids and offers on physical trading platforms in China and Singapore.

"Some traders were holding out for higher prices privately, but buyers shied away," price assessment agency TSI said.

"I don't think there's too much room for prices to go down.

There should be some stock buildup by mills before the October holidays," said the Shanghai trader, referring to the week-long National Day holiday in China.

Stocks of iron ore in the country are also not high, indicating steady demand among mills.

Iron ore inventory at 44 Chinese ports stood at 80.05 million tonnes as of Sept. 11, the lowest since late June, data from consultancy SteelHome showed. SH-TOT-IRONINV

China's iron ore output dropped 9.5 percent in August from a year ago to 123.81 million tonnes, government data showed. MTL/CHINA7

Rebar and iron ore prices at 0701 GMT

Contract

Last

Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR JAN6

1909

-26.00

-1.34 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO JAN6

392.5

-13.00

-3.21 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES OCT

53.46

-0.72

-1.33 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX

57.5

-1.00

-1.71 METAL BULLETIN INDEX

58.1

-0.91

-1.54

Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.3675 Chinese yuan) (Editing by Tom Hogue and Anand Basu)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.