BEIJING- Iron ore futures prices slid and headed for a weekly loss on Friday, as the wave of restocking for seaborne cargoes from steelmakers in top consumer China receded and high portside stocks as well as falling steel margins weighed.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trading 0.93 percent lower at 797.5 yuan ($109.90) a metric ton, representing a weekly fall of 0.5 percent.
The benchmark January iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.29 percent lower at $103.7 a ton, a decline of 0.9 percent so far this week.
Average daily hot metal output slid for a third straight week by 0.5 percent week-on-week to 2.33 million tons in the week of Dec. 6, 1.4 percent higher than the same period in 2023, data from consultancy Mysteel showed. The market is now closely monitoring China’s Central Economic Work Conference to be held this month, on a yet-to-be-announced date, with top leaders setting economic growth targets and planning next year’s agenda.
