The most-traded September iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 2.7% lower at 1,153 yuan ($178.57) a tonne, after four sessions of gains.
The steelmaking ingredient’s most-active July contract on the Singapore Exchange slumped 2.3% to $207.75 a tonne by 0705 GMT.
Spot prices of steel construction materials fell further on Monday on weak demand, according to Chinese data provider Mysteel consultancy.
Daily trading volumes of construction steel including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among China’s 237 traders surveyed by Mysteel shrank 17,608 tonnes to 193,481 tonnes on Monday due to hot and humid weather.
Spot prices of benchmark 62%-grade iron ore in China remained above $200 a tonne, but were down 5.2% from the May 12 record high of $232.50.
The most-liquid Dalian iron ore contract has declined 15.1% over the same period, after Chinese market watchdogs reiterated warnings against hoarding and market speculation.
China’s December aluminium production grows 4.2%, leading to 2024 output to 1 million tonnes shy of the production cap
