SINGAPORE- Iron ore futures prices fell on Friday to post a weekly loss, as a lack of concrete stimulus from top consumer China and weak seasonal demand for steel weighed on the market.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.19 percent lower at 804.5 yuan ($110.72) a metric ton, declining 2.54 percent from last Friday’s closing price.
The contract hit an intraday low of 792.5 yuan, its weakest since June 26.
The benchmark August iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.99 percent lower at $104.45 a ton. It was down 2.33 percent week-on-week, its sharpest weekly drop since June 7.
Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange posted marginal gains on Friday.
Rebar hot-rolled coil and stainless steel ticked up about 0.1 percent each, while wire rod lost 0.25 percent .
Seasonal land sales are at a multi-year low, suggesting weak demand prospects for steel, while China’s iron ore inventories are at a multi-year seasonal high, signaling weak demand and strong supply, ANZ analysts said in a note.
Rising portside inventories remained a headwind, with the total piled up at 45 Chinese major ports scaling a new high since mid-April 2022, rising 0.9 percent week-on-week to 151.3 million tons as of July 18, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
Iron ore also fell after China’s third plenum failed to signal any major policy shift amid soft economic data, the ANZ analysts added.
