MANILA: Dalian iron ore futures held steady on Monday as China's falling portside stockpiles of the steelmaking raw material supported prices, despite fears of a potential second wave of coronavirus infections locally and signs of weakening domestic steel demand.
The Dalian Commodity Exchange's most-traded September iron ore ended flat at 762.50 yuan ($107.51) a tonne, erasing early gains. Iron ore on the Singapore Exchange, however, fell 2.1% to $100.03 in afternoon trade.
Imported iron ore stocked at China's ports dropped to 107.75 million tonnes last week, the lowest since October 2016, SteelHome consultancy data showed.
The further decline in portside inventory showed Chinese steel mills' strong demand for iron ore as they ramped up production, with crude steel output rising 8.5% in May from a month earlier and up 1.9% in January-May from a year earlier.
But latest weekly data showed that destocking of steel products has slowed, Sinosteel Futures Co Ltd analysts wrote in a note.
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