Iron ore slides toward CNY 700 on demand worries
Iron ore futures decline toward CNY 700/ton near 14-month lows as weak Chinese steelmaker profitability limits demand recovery; July imports fall 4.09% m/m while shipments also ease.
Iron ore futures declined toward CNY 700 per ton, approaching 14-month lows as weak profitability among Chinese steelmakers continues to constrain the potential for a meaningful recovery in ore demand.
Recent data also showed China imported 108.086 million tons of iron ore and concentrates in July, down 4.09% from June but still 3.5% higher than a year earlier.
Meanwhile, slower consumer and producer inflation in China last month pointed to persistent weakness in domestic demand.
On the supply side, however, tightening shipments continued to offer some support to prices.
Industry data showed global iron ore shipments fell by 1.38 million tons in the week through August 9 to around 32 million tons, while volumes arriving at Chinese ports dropped by 13.1 million tons to 18.9 million tons.