Iron ore languishes below $100/T on weak China demand

Iron ore futures languished on Monday, as benchmark prices collapsed under $100 a tonne due to weak Chinese demand and swelling portside inventory of the steelmaking raw material, but the country’s upbeat October exports data lent some support.

The most-traded January iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange slipped 0.1% to 562 yuan ($87.84) a tonne by 0240 GMT, trimming early losses but was down for an eighth consecutive session.

Iron ore’s December contract on the Singapore Exchange slumped 1.5% to $90.10 a tonne, after initially trading at $89.45.

Spot 62%-grade iron ore for delivery to China from top supplier Australia traded at $94.50 a tonne on Friday, the lowest since May 2020, based on SteelHome consultancy data.

Atilla Widnell, managing director at Singapore-based Navigate Commodities, said he had updated his short-term target price to $97.92-$101.16 a tonne CFR China, from an earlier range of $91.18-$101.24.

Weekly shipments from Australia and Brazil plunged last week by an estimated 4.5 million tonnes as prices tumbled, after rising in prior weeks.

“The material decrease in Australian shipments may be an indication that output from high marginal cost producers could now be feeling the pinch from relatively low iron ore prices,” he said.