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Iron ore tumbles as worries over China demand grow

Benchmark Singapore and Dalian iron ore futures stretched losses on Wednesday, languishing below $100 a tonne, as steel prices slumped in China on economic recovery worries.

A weaker yuan added to the gloomy mood, with Shanghai rebar futures hitting their lowest in more than six months.

The steelmaking ingredient’s most-active June contract on the Singapore Exchange tumbled as much as 4.7% to $95.25 a tonne, its weakest since May 5.

The most-traded September iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 4.6% lower at 682.50 yuan ($98.74) a tonne, also touching its lowest since May 5 at 682 yuan.

Benchmark October rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slumped as much as 3.6% to 3,462 yuan a tonne, its weakest since Nov. 3.

China’s yuan weakened to near six-month lows against the dollar on Wednesday and surrendered all the gains it made this year against a basket of currencies of its trading partners amid fresh tensions in Sino-U.S. relations.

The currency’s weakness added to lingering concerns about top steel producer and metals consumer China’s patchy economic recovery, Sinosteel Futures analysts said in a note.

Market fundamentals have also been uninspiring, with China’s steel demand – which did not meet expectations for the peak construction season between March and May – likely to remain muted, and as steel mills comply with China’s production limits to curb emissions.

“In the medium term, the crude steel production control policy will lead to a significant drop in iron ore demand, while the long-term outlook is also relatively pessimistic,” Sinosteel analysts said.

Other Shanghai steel benchmarks also tumbled, with hot-rolled coil down 3.1%, wire rod shedding 1.9%, and stainless steel falling 0.8%.

Coking coal and coke on the Dalian exchange were down 1.9% and 2.7%, respectively.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Sohini Goswami)

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