BEIJING- Iron ore futures slid on Monday, dragged down by heightened supply pressure, while traders gauged soft steel demand in top consumer China with weak construction activities dampening domestic consumption.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 1.62 percent lower at 730 yuan ($101.65) a metric ton.
The contract hit an intraday low at 725.5 yuan a ton, its lowest level since Aug 15, 2023.
The benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was down 1.93 percent at $98.95 a ton, after hitting the lowest since July 31 at $98.45 a ton earlier in the session.
“Supply pressure aggravated amid persistent increase in shipments,” analysts at Everbright Futures said in a note.
“The issuance pace of new special bonds in July remained slow, weakening expectations for (steel demand from)infrastructure sector,” they added.
Special bonds are typically used to fund infrastructure projects.
Ore demand will continue falling as a sharply shrinking profitability among steelmakers spurred a wave of production halts, according to analysts at First Futures.
Around 95 percent Chinese steelmakers are operating at a loss, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
