BEIJING- Iron ore futures fell for a fifth straight session on Friday, posting a second weekly loss, with bearish sentiment prevailing after weaker-than-expected steel prices in top consumer China hurt the demand outlook.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.99 percent lower at 697 yuan ($97.16) a metric ton.
It posted a fall of 6.1 percent from last Friday’s close and a decline of 26 percent so far this year.
The benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange slid 1.39 percent to $92.25 a ton, recording a loss of 8.7 percent so far this week.
A steeper-than-expected fall in steel prices in China has undermined sentiment, pressuring demand and prices for steelmaking ingredients including iron ore, said analysts.
Rebar mainly used in the construction sector, slumped to the lowest since June 2017 during this week while hot-rolled coil typically used in the manufacturing area, tumbled to the lowest since April 2020.
They closed daytime trade 0.71 percent and 1.8 percent lower, respectively.
Analysts at Macquarie said in a note that “55 percent of steel mills experienced decreased domestic orders into August compared to prior 30 percent … property remains the main drag among end-user sectors”.
