BEIJING- Iron ore futures fell for a fourth straight session, as concerns over China’s property sector weighed on demand and port inventories rose.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) was down 2.44 percent to 740.0 yuan a metric ton.
On Thursday, ratings agency Fitch cut its forecast for China’s housing market and said it now expects a 5 percent -10 percent fall in new home sales in 2024.
“Average daily hot metal production has been around 2.21 million tons for three consecutive weeks, which does not reflect demand in the peak season – the demand has been moved back,” said Pei Hao, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at international brokerage FIS.
Country Garden the country’s largest private property developer, on Thursday delayed the publication of its 2023 financial results. Vanke another major developer, reported a 50.6 percent drop in 2023 core profit.
Total stocks of imported iron ore at China’s major ports rose for a fourteenth consecutive week to reach 144.3 million tons on March 28, data from industry consultancy Mysteel showed. That represents the highest level since April 2022.
Imports from Brazil increased further, rising by 1.8 percent on the previous week, Mysteel said.
