Iron ore futures prices dipped on Friday, snapping a three-session winning streak, as demand in top consumer China softened, hit by shrinking steel margins.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade 0.58% lower at 771 yuan ($108.24) a metric ton, posting a 0.1% weekly fall.
By 0711 GMT, the benchmark November iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.57% lower at $104.05 a ton, an increase of 0.1% so far this week.
Lower hot metal output, a gauge of iron ore demand, dragged down prices of the key steelmaking ingredient, said Ying Cao, a Beijing-based analyst at broker SDIC Futures.
Average daily hot metal output slipped for a fourth straight week by 0.4% from the prior week to the lowest since September 5 at 2.4 million tons in the week as of October 23, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
“We expect hot metal output to fall further in the coming weeks as stronger coal prices have squeezed steel margins, forcing some mills to trim output,” said Cao.
Coking coal and coke (DCJcv1), other steelmaking ingredients, extended gains, up 1.42% and 1.53%, respectively, bolstered by falling supply caused by halts of mining operations in some coal production hubs, analysts at GF Futures said.
That said, hopes of an easing trader tension between the world’s two largest economies helped limit price loss.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is set to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer from Friday, in a bid to ease an unexpected flare-up in tension ahead of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange moved sideways. Rebar RBF1! shed 0.75%, wire rod (SWRcv1) lost 0.18% while hot-rolled coil EHR1! ticked up 0.03% and stainless steel HRC1! gained 0.71%. Source: Reuters
