BEIJING: Iron ore futures slid in the first working day of the week when the market would closely monitor the U.S. presidential election and a key meeting of the top leadership in biggest consumer China for cues on stimulus measures.
China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee is meeting over Nov. 4-8 and all eyes are on whether more stimulus measures would be unveiled to spur the economy.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.78% lower at 766 yuan ($107.69) a metric ton, as of 0238 GMT.
The benchmark December iron ore on the Singapore Exchange slid 1.01% to $101.7 a ton, as of 0242 GMT. It hit the lowest since Oct. 25 at $101.25 a ton earlier in the session.
Weighing on prices of the key steelmaking ingredient are signs of weakening demand, analysts said.
Iron ore dips on demand concerns
The average daily output of hot metal, an indicator to gauge iron ore demand, halted an eight-week gain to pose a fall of 0.1% week-on-week to 2.35 million tons in the week as of Nov 1, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
The expectation of growing supply and portside stocks in the last quarter of this year further dragged down ore prices.
“Portside stocks piled up in October and we are expecting to see a further rise in November and December, when ore demand is seasonally soft,” said Zhuo Guiqiu, an analyst at Jinrui Futures.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE posted losses, with coking coal and coke down 1.45% and 1.29%, respectively.
Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost ground. Rebar shed 1.09%, hot-rolled coil dipped 0.95%, wire rod fell 0.49% while stainless steel edged up 0.15%.
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