Benchmark Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures fell on Monday, dragged down by improving near-term supply of the steelmaking ingredient and signs of continuing economic weakness in top steel producer China.
The drop came despite a surprise easing of monetary policy by the Chinese central bank and also weighed on other Dalian steelmaking inputs and steel futures in Shanghai.
Iron ore’s most-traded iron ore May contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange dropped as much as 3.1 percent to 700 yuan a ton, its lowest since Jan. 10.
On the Singapore Exchange, iron ore’s most-active February contract shed 2.8 percent to $123.10 a ton, its weakest since Jan. 5.
China’s central bank cut the borrowing costs of its medium-term loans for the first time since April 2020, suggesting an intensifying economic slowdown, even as the world’s second-biggest economy grew by a faster-than-expected 4 percent on annual terms in the last quarter of 2021.
