Copper and iron ore tumble as growth fears roil metals markets

Iron ore plunged and copper sank to a four-month low as worries over Chinese steel production, global growth risks and the prospect of reduced U.S. stimulus roiled metals markets.

This week’s drop for iron ore accelerated, with futures sliding as much as 12 per cent to the lowest since December in Singapore on expectations that Chinese steel output and consumption will weaken over the rest of the year, partly as authorities curb pollution. Prices are more than 40 per cent below a record high reached just three months ago.

Metals markets have also been pressured by worries that the Federal Reserve may soon start curbing massive stimulus that helped drive prices higher over the past year, as well as risks from the fast-spreading delta coronavirus variant. Weaker data in the U.S. and China recently added to unease that the global economic recovery is stalling.

Those concerns pushed copper below US$9,000 a ton on Thursday, and tin tumbled as much as 11 per cent as all base metals declined. Mining stocks also slid, with BHP Group, Rio Tinto Group, Glencore Plc and Antofagasta Plc down more than 3 per cent. Oil buckled too, retreating below US$65 a barrel to the lowest since May.