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Dalian iron ore falls 3 pct as steel retreats to one-week low

Published 15/08/2016, 01:51 pm
© Reuters.  Dalian iron ore falls 3 pct as steel retreats to one-week low

* Shanghai rebar pulls back further from 3-1/2-month top

* Slower Chinese steel demand to lead to oversupplied market -BMI

By Manolo Serapio Jr

MANILA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in China dropped nearly 3 percent on Monday as steel prices pulled back after recent rapid gains, with both commodities slipping to one-week lows.

The losses in Chinese steel prices also weighed on other raw materials including coking coal which slid nearly 5 percent and coke which tumbled almost 3 percent.

The most-traded January iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 was down 2.8 percent at 418.50 yuan ($63) a tonne by midday after falling to a low of 413 yuan, the weakest since Aug. 4.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-active rebar contract SRBcv1 slipped 1.3 percent to 2,540 yuan a tonne, having touched a session trough of 2,505 yuan, the least since Aug. 5.

Rebar, a construction steel product, hit a 3-1/2-month high of 2,639 yuan on Aug. 10.

Once the positive impact of economic stimulus in China wanes over the coming quarters, steel demand in the world's top consumer should weaken sharply, said BMI Research, part of Fitch Ratings.

"We expect the first-half pickup in China's steel production resulting from the price rally will be short-lived, as declining Chinese steel demand growth, stemming from a slowdown of the country's construction activity, will result in an oversupplied market," BMI said in a note.

The global steel market will see a surplus of 5.2 million tonnes in 2016, a decrease from last year's surplus of 13.8 million tonnes, BMI said.

China's economic activity slowed in July, with investment growing at its slowest pace since the turn of the century, as the world's second-largest economy grappled with the painful restructuring of its older industrial sectors. ($1 = 6.6472 Chinese yuan)

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