Chinese steel futures drop

BEIJING: China’s Shanghai steel futures dropped on Thursday, with construction rebar falling more than 3%, as government controls on steelmaking raw materials weighed on prices of steel products.

The most-traded steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, used in the construction sector, fell as much as 3.2% to 4,622 yuan ($731.64) per tonne. They ended down 2.9% at 4,637 yuan a tonne.

The country’s state planner on Wednesday asked ports and iron ore traders to avoid “excessive hoarding” of the ingredient.

It has also probed “abnormal trading behaviours” of thermal coal and set a “reasonable” price range for the benchmark 5,500 kcal coal at Qinhuangdao Port, according to a news conference.

“Recent regulatory adjustments on ore and coal prices are relatively frequent, the policy risks have not been fully released,” Haitong Futures said in a note.

Hot rolled coils futures on the Shanghai bourse, for May delivery, slipped 1.9% to close at 4,804 yuan a tonne.

China’s housing minister pledged to keep the real estate market stable this year and ensure that genuine demand for homes is met.