BEIJING- Iron ore futures prices extended their decline for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, undermined by the seasonally-weak steel demand in top consumer China, although improved steel margins and firm consumption for the key steelmaking ingredient curbed loss.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.69 percent lower at 795.5 yuan ($109.53) a metric ton.
The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.19 percent lower at $102.4 a ton.
Iron ore prices have been under downward pressure as steel demand remained weak and expectations of a steel output cut lingered, analysts at SOOCHOW Futures said in a note.
Analysts at Maike Futures cited high portside stocks as another headwind for iron ore.
“Despite the persistent price fall, some traders are still holding confidence in the market amid the remaining high hot metal output as that means at least in the short term, ore demand will be firm,” said a North China-based trader, requesting anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
