Iron ore futures in China extended a post-Lunar New Year selloff into a fourth session on Thursday, on rising concerns over demand prospects in the world’s top importer of the steelmaking raw material that has been hit by a coronavirus outbreak.
The Dalian Commodity Exchange’s most-traded iron ore contract, expiring in May, slumped 1.7 percent to 574.50 yuan ($82.30) a ton.
On the Singapore Exchange, the front-month April contract was down 0.8 percent to $77.50 a ton in early trade.
The Chinese iron ore benchmark has shed more than 10 percent so far this year, after three straight years of gains.
While prices are widely expected to continue normalizing this year after last year’s surge due to tight supply concerns, the fall this week was the sharpest so far in six months.
The coronavirus epidemic, which has killed 563 people so far in China, has prompted restrictions on movement of people and transportation in the mainland, disrupting many businesses such as construction, manufacturing and infrastructure.
Many analysts have cut their growth outlook for China due to the epidemic, but global markets have stabilized in recent days amid central bank stimulus measures and hopes for a vaccine. – Reuters
