SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures prices dipped on Tuesday, surrendering earlier gains, as the weakening Chinese demand outlook for steel outweighed softer supply and expectations of further stimulus from the top consumer.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.07% lower at 675 yuan ($94.79) a metric ton.
The benchmark October iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.17% lower at $90.7 a ton as of 0710 GMT.
China’s iron ore imports in August fell 1.38% from July and slipped 4.73% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, as falling steel prices and a gloomy demand outlook dampened buyers’ appetite.
September is a typical peak season for steel consumption in China, but demand remained low last week amid concerns about the Chinese and US economies, said consultancy Mysteel.
China’s consumer inflation accelerated in August to the fastest pace in half a year, while producer price deflation worsened.
A sputtering start in the second half is mounting pressure on the world’s second-largest economy to roll out more policies amid a prolonged housing downturn, persistent joblessness, debt woes and rising trade tensions.
Meanwhile, the total volume of iron ore shipments dispatched to global destinations from 19 ports and 16 mining companies in Australia and Brazil ended a three-week rise, sliding 10.8% week-on-week to 25.8 million tons during Sept. 2-8, data from Mysteel showed. Total iron ore stockpiles across ports in China edged 0.2% lower week-on-week to 150.5 million tons as of Sept. 6, Steelhome data showed.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE strengthened after six consecutive sessions of losses, with coking coal and coke up 1.24% and 0.45%, respectively.
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