Posted on 21 Jun 2022
Iron ore plunged more than 7% in Singapore — giving up all its gains this year — as steel mills idled blast furnaces amid growing pessimism over the demand outlook in China.
The steelmaking ingredient has now lost around a fifth of its value in a run of declines that has extended to an eighth day. Chinese prices of metallurgical coal, used to make steel, were down as much as 12% at the lowest since late February.
Consumption of iron ore has been hit by China's slumping property market and the country's inability to put the coronavirus behind it. While there was some optimism last month that an easing of the current outbreaks would spur a swift rebound in economic activity, that appears to have been replaced by the realities of regular mass testing and the constant threat of more lockdowns.
Blast furnace rates in Tangshan fell last week for the first time since mid-May, with industry consultant Mysteel saying in a note that more mills in the steelmaking hub are cutting output to do maintenance due to weak margins. An index of Chinese steel profits has plunged by almost 90% so far this month.
"With the slow spot trade, steel product prices have plunged, with more steel mills now losing money and hastening planned maintenance," said Wei Ying, a ferrous analyst at China Industrial Futures. However, given the speed of the drop, iron ore "may have been oversold" and there is likely to be a rebound in the second half, she said.
Daily spot trading of construction-related steel products is around 11 million to 13 million tons now, compared with 17 million to 19 million tons usually, Wei said.
Source:The Edge
