Dalian iron ore extends fall on weak China demand, strong global supply
By Gabrielle Ng
SINGAPORE, July 17 (Reuters) -Dalian iron ore futures prices fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, undermined by weak seasonal demand from top consumer China and mounting global supply.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended morning trade nearly 0.5% lower at 823 yuan ($113.23) a metric ton.
The benchmark August iron ore SZZFQ4 on the Singapore Exchange was steady at $107.1 a ton, as of 0337 GMT.
The fall in iron ore futures comes amid concerns of weak demand in China just as supply increases, ANZ analysts said in a note.
Property investment in China fell 10.1% in the first half of 2024 from a year earlier, and home sales by floor area declined 19%, official data showed. The property sector is a key user of steel in China.
Extreme storms that battered China's southern region this summer are now shifting to the central and northern provinces, with a small town in China's Henan lashed by almost a year's worth of rain in one day.
BHP Group BHP.AX, the world's largest listed miner, reported record annual iron ore production for a second consecutive year, helped by improved weather conditions and higher contribution from its South Flank operations in Western Australia.
Brazilian miner Vale SA VALE3.SA expressed confidence that it would reach the high-end of its 2024 guidance for iron ore production after output increased in the second quarter.
The company said production of the steel-making ingredient in the June quarter rose 2.4% from a year earlier to 80.6 million tons.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained, with coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 up about 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed. Rebar SRBcv1 and wire rod SWRcv1 were little changed, while hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 and stainless steel SHSScv1 inched lower 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
($1 = 7.2687 Chinese yuan)
Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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