MANILA: Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures pulled back on Tuesday from record peaks hit in the previous session, after the Chinese market regulator stepped up efforts to curb trading positions for this year’s hottest commodity.
China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange has moved to limit non-futures company members’ single-day position openings for iron ore futures to 2,000 lots from Tuesday’s session.
In a separate statement, the bourse also proposed cutting some trading position limits by more than half for its iron ore futures “to strengthen the risk management”.
The move followed strong speculative buying in recent days that had prompted a call by major Chinese steelmakers for a regulatory probe, and a Dec. 3 announcement of a trading limit for the most-active May iron ore contract.
The Dalian exchange has said it would “dynamically adjust the trading limit in accordance with market conditions”.
Dalian iron ore for May delivery ended daytime trading down 4.8% at 1,055 yuan ($161.04) a tonne, after five straight sessions of gains.
Iron ore’s January contract on the Singapore Exchange slumped 6.9% to $162.83 a tonne by 0702 GMT, after touching a record high of $176.20 a tonne in the previous session.
Prices for iron ore have more than doubled in 2020, putting the steelmaking raw material on track to be the top-performing major commodity globally for a second straight year as speculative money floods in and Chinese demand holds firm.
Steel futures surrendered early gains but were still supported as inventories in the world’s top steel producer continued to shrink.
Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.3%, while hot-rolled coil climbed 0.5%. Stainless steel dipped 4.6%.
Dalian coking coal fell 3.1% and coke lost 1.2%.
Spot 62%-grade iron ore soared to$175 a tonne on Monday, the highest on record based on SteelHome consultancy data.
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