SINGAPORE- Iron ore futures continued to slide on Tuesday, with just hours to go until US tariffs on Chinese imports came into effect.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 1.39 percent lower at 779 yuan ($106.93) a metric ton.
The benchmark April iron ore on the Singapore Exchange eased 0.18 percent to $99.7 a ton.
Earlier in the session, prices hit $99.35, the lowest since January 15.
“Iron ore dipped below $100/t yesterday for the first time since mid-January. The move followed reports that Chinese steel mills are reducing production to ease pollution levels ahead of the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting,” said ING analysts.
Chinese stocks opened lower on the day as market focus shifted from recent tech and AI themes to the NPC meeting on Wednesday.
Trade tensions with the US are also affecting the outlook for exports, ING added.
Beijing vowed to retaliate against fresh US tariffs, with American agricultural and food products possibly in its crosshairs.
This comes after US President Donald Trump threatened an additional 10 percent levy on Chinese imports last week, doubling the tariff to a cumulative 20 percent. The tariffs are set to take effect at 0501 GMT on Tuesday.
Tariff tensions also caused shares of Australian miners to slide, further dampening sentiment. China is one of resource-reliant Australia’s key trading partners.
