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UPDATE 1-Shanghai rebar hits all-time low as China woes weigh

Published 25/08/2015, 05:24 pm
© Reuters.  UPDATE 1-Shanghai rebar hits all-time low as China woes weigh
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* Chinese stocks extend losses, other markets rebound

* Spot iron ore slid 4 pct on Monday in global rout (Updates prices)

By Manolo Serapio Jr

MANILA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel futures fell to a record low on Tuesday before paring losses, hit by worries that slowing economic growth in China would continue to sap steel consumption this year.

Leading Chinese steelmaker Baoshan Iron and Steel 600019.SS said weaker steel pricing would end a recent rally in prices of raw material iron ore. ID:nL4N1101RB

"Mills are hesitating to buy raw material at the moment," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai. "The current steel price doesn't show any recovery in demand and I'm not sure how much improvement in seasonal demand we will see in September."

China's steel consumption typically picks up in September along with construction activity after the summer lull. But a slowing economy could mute any pick-up, the trader said.

The most-traded rebar for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 closed down 1.8 percent at 1,933 yuan ($300) a tonne after falling to as low as 1,917 yuan earlier. It was the weakest for a most-active contract since the bourse launched rebar futures in March 2009.

In China's key Tangshan area, the price of spot billet fell by 80 yuan per tonne, or more than 4 percent, from the weekend to Monday to 1,720 yuan, traders said.

Crude steel consumption in China, the world's biggest market for the alloy, shrank 5.2 percent in January-July, according to the China Iron and Steel Association. It declined more than 3 percent last year, the first fall since 1981.

The January iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 dropped nearly 2 percent to end at 360.50 yuan a tonne, after touching a one-month trough of 355.50 yuan.

Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI slumped 4.1 percent to $53.30 a tonne on Monday, according to The Steel Index, tracking losses in global markets.

Dalian iron ore futures dropped by the same extent on Monday as equities and industrial commodities tumbled after a brutal selloff on fears over the fate of the Chinese economy.

Monday's fall ended a recent rally in spot iron ore which rose above $56 a tonne in early August after hitting a decade-low of $44.10 in July.

In equity markets, bargain hunters helped Asian stocks bounce off three-year lows although Chinese shares lost over 7 percent as panic selling intensified after Monday's rout. MKTS/GLOB

Rebar and iron ore prices at 0710 GMT

Contract

Last

Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR JAN6

1933

-36.00

-1.83 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO JAN6

360.5

-7.00

-1.90 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES SEP

49.25

-0.50

-1.01 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX

53.3

-2.30

-4.14 METAL BULLETIN INDEX

53.28

-2.82

-5.03

Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.4126 Chinese yuan)

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