BEIJING- Dalian iron ore futures prices dipped further on Monday amid lingering concerns about demand in top consumer China, although some upbeat data renewed hopes for a pick-up in steel demand and capped the losses.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 0.44 percent lower at 792 yuan ($110.04) a metric ton, following an 11 percent on-week drop last week.
Tepid near-term ore demand remained a headwind to both sentiment and ore prices, said analysts.
Average daily hot metal output among Chinese steelmakers surveyed fell for a fourth straight week in the week to March 15, down by 0.6 percent on-week to 2.21 million tons, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
Investment in the property sector, the largest steel consumer in China, slid 9.0 percent year-on-year in January-February, compared with a 24.0 percent fall in December, official data showed, although it’s still far from levels of reaching stability.