BEIJING: Benchmark iron ore futures in China tumbled on Friday and were on course for a fourth straight weekly fall, as worries over steel output controls overshadowed demand for steelmaking ingredients and gobbled up gains logged earlier this week.
Overall iron ore supplies from the top four miners are expected to increase significantly in the second half of 2021, SinoSteel Futures wrote in a note.
If environmental-related production controls are to be implemented strictly, the market might have an oversupply of iron ore, the note added.
The most-actively traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, fell 2.8% to 1,174 yuan ($181.05) per tonne as of 0330 GMT. They are set to fall 0.7% this week.
Spot prices of iron ore with 62% iron content for delivery to China was unchanged at $219 per tonne on Thursday, according to SteelHome consultancy.
Coking coal futures on the Dalian bourse fell 0.9% to 1,861 yuan a tonne.
Coke futures slid 1.2% to 2,506 yuan per tonne.
Capacity utilisation rates of blast furnaces at 247 steel mills recovered to 86% as of Friday from the week earlier, but still much lower than same level year ago, data from Mysteel consultancy showed.
The most traded steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange , for October delivery, edged down 0.2% to 5,398 yuan a tonne.
Hot rolled coils, used in the manufacturing sector, increased 0.2% to 5,784 yuan per tonne.
Rebar and hot rolled coils have gained 5.4% and 6.8%, respectively, this week. Shanghai stainless steel futures, for August delivery, jumped 1.2% to 17,290 yuan a tonne.
China’s factory gate price rose at a slightly slower pace in June following government’s efforts to rein in the commodity prices, data from statistics bureau showed.
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