Dalian iron ore retreats as demand eases
Iron ore futures in China fell to a four-month low on Thursday before recovering at the close, pressured by lean demand as the world's top steel producer sustains a crackdown against polluting industries that could limit output.
Tangshan city in China's top steel-producing Hebei province launched a campaign this week to improve air quality, saying steel mills that fail to meet emission standards face suspension and heavy fines.
Traders say mills in Hebei were also asked to reduce or suspend production before the Belt and Road summit in Beijing on May 14-15 to help clear China's skies.
"Firstly, demand for steel is not good enough as people had expected and now we have new restrictions on steel production," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai. "So you will see less demand for iron ore." Andrey Rudakov
"Firstly, demand for steel is not good enough as people had expected and now we have new restrictions on steel production," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.
"So you will see less demand for iron ore."
The most-traded iron ore for September delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell as much as 5.5 per cent to 445 yuan ($US64) a tonne, its weakest since January 4. It closed 1.3 per cent lower at 465 yuan. It lost 1.5 per cent to 455 yuan in the late trading session.
The spot price for iron ore slid 0.6 per cent to $US60.38 a tonne, according to Metal Bulletin.
There is also ample supply of the steelmaking commodity in China. Iron ore stocks at the country's ports reached 131.95 million tonnes last week, according to SteelHome.
That was not far below the 132.45 million tonnes level hit in March, the most since SteelHome began tracking it in 2004.
Weaker steel demand weighed on steel prices, but they should recover as China's clampdown on polluting mills continues, said the Shanghai trader.
"We heard about mills cutting production or go for maintenance for several days," he said.
The most-active rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended nearly flat at 3060 yuan a tonne, well off a session low of 2962 yuan.
Coking coal on the Dalian exchange closed down 3.9 per cent at 1025.50 yuan per tonne, after earlier hitting 993 yuan, its lowest since September 30.
China has said it would shut all producers of low-quality steel products by the end of June as Beijing fights pollution.
Reuters
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