Iron ore futures in China fell on Monday, retreating from a more than eight-month peak hit in the previous session, as demand for the steelmaking ingredient softened due to the monsoon season.
The most actively traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery closed down 2.2% at 754 yuan.
The drop came as fewer blast furnaces at mills were put into production last week. Capacity utilisation rates at 247 mills across China fell to 91.54% from 92.35%, according to consultancy Mysteel.
Easing demand has also pushed up portside inventories of iron ore, which rose for the first time in 10 weeks to 108.35 million tonnes last week, data compiled by SteelHome consultancy showed.
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