Iron ore set for weekly loss on lack of China stimulus, demand outlook
Repeats to widen distribution
By Gabrielle Ng
SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) -Iron ore futures prices fell on Friday and were on track for a weekly loss, as a lack of concrete stimulus from top consumer China and weak seasonal demand for steel weighed on the market.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended morning trade 0.37% lower at 803 yuan ($110.50) a metric ton.
It hit an intraday low of 792.5 yuan earlier in the session, its weakest level since June 26.
The benchmark August iron ore SZZFQ4 on the Singapore Exchange was 1.32% lower at $104.1 a ton.
For the week, Dalian iron ore has declined 2.73%, while Singapore prices are down 2.33%.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed on Friday. Stainless steel SHSScv1 shed 0.33%, wire rod SWRcv1 ticked down 0.06%, rebar SRBcv1 climbed 0.14%, and hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 gained 0.11%.
Steel demand from China's struggling property sector faces "persistent weakness", and will continue to decline in the second half of 2024, keeping the domestic steel market under pressure, said Chinese consultancy Mysteel.
Seasonal land sales are at a multi-year low, suggesting weak demand prospects for steel, while China's iron ore inventories are at a multi-year seasonal high, signalling weak demand and strong supply, ANZ analysts said in a note.
Iron ore also fell after China's third plenum failed to signal any major policy shift amid soft economic data, ANZ analysts added.
Chinese leaders reiterated their wide-ranging economic policy goals on Thursday, from modernising industry to expanding domestic demand and curbing debt and property sector risks, without detailing implementation steps.
The world's second-largest economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter, leaning hard on industrial output and external demand, while the crisis-hit property sector and household consumption continued to disappoint.
It remains unclear how Beijing intends to boost consumer demand while favouring production-oriented policies.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed. Coking coal DJMcv1 added 0.97%, while coke DCJcv1 lost 0.52%.
($1 = 7.2669 Chinese yuan)
Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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