China iron ore futures hit trading limit, plunge to nearly 1-yr low

Benchmark iron ore futures in China dived to its daily trading limit on Tuesday and fell below 600 yuan (US$93.75) per tonne for the first time in nearly a year due to loose supply conditions and poor demand outlook.

Shipments from major miners in Australia and Brazil have been stable at relatively high levels. Iron ore exports from the two countries increased by nearly one million tonnes to 23.96 million tonnes as of Nov.1, data from Mysteel consultancy showed.

Data from the consultancy also showed on Tuesday that iron ore inventories at 45 ports in China jumped to 146.5 million tonnes this week, up 4.05 million tonnes from the week earlier.

The demand side of raw materials, however, remained cool on steel production controls and sluggish downstream consumption.

"Affected by heating season and winter Olympics (controls), molten iron output is hard to increase and could stay weak in short-to-medium term," SinoSteel Futures wrote in a note.