SINGAPORE- Iron ore futures prices fell on Friday and were set for monthly losses, pressured by US tariff concerns and mounting trade frictions against Chinese steel exports.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed down 0.74 percent to 799.5 yuan ($109.72) a metric ton.
The contract has lost 1.17 percent for the month.
The benchmark March iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.36 percent lower at $103.65 a ton, losing 1.94 percent in February.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday his proposed 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on March 4 along with an extra 10 percent duty on Chinese imports.
Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports earlier this month, resulting in a cumulative 20 percent tariff.
Trump also announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, which have stirred a new wave of trade frictions against Chinese steel.
Vietnam has announced a temporary anti-dumping levy on some Chinese steel products, while South Korea has provisionally imposed tariffs on Chinese steel imports.
The US steel tariffs are also set to disrupt the Chinese transshipment of steel estimated at $7 billion, undercutting a vital source of sales for China’s struggling steel sector, Reuters reported on Thursday.
