SINGAPORE- Iron ore futures extended declines on Friday to end the week lower, as softening near-term demand and bleak factory data from top consumer China weighed on sentiment.
The most-traded September iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended afternoon session 1.7 percent lower at 865 yuan per metric ton. It posted a weekly decline of 4.7 percent .
The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.03 percent lower at $115.6 a ton to mark a 4.3 percent week-on-week drop.
The average daily hot metal output among steelmakers surveyed dropped 0.4 percent week-on-week to about 2.36 million tons as of May 31, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
Some steel mills had opted for a wait-and-see approach, with suppressed purchasing enthusiasm for iron ore, information provider Shanghai Metals Market said in a report on Thursday.
China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell in May, an official factory survey showed on Friday, keeping alive calls for fresh stimulus as a protracted property crisis continued to weigh on businesses, consumers and investors.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE fell, with coking coal down 2.59 percent at 1,670.5 yuan ($230.61) a ton, and coke plummeting 3.99 percent to 2,273 yuan ($313.78).
