July 15 (Reuters) - Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures tumbled below $100 on Friday on heightened fears over waning demand for steel, as China's economy faltered in the second quarter and a crisis in its property sector appeared to be worsening.
Top steel producer and iron ore consumer China's economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 2.6% in the second quarter from the previous quarter due to COVID lockdowns.
The most-traded September iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 was down 10% at 645 yuan ($95.32) a tonne at the end of daytime trade, after earlier hitting 641.50 yuan, its lowest since Dec. 15.
It has fallen 13.3% this week, the steepest drop since mid-Feb.
On the Singapore Exchange, the front-month August contract for the steelmaking ingredient SZZFQ2 dropped 4% to a session-low $96.25 a tonne, its weakest since November, putting it on track for a weekly loss of more than 11%.
Entering the Chinese New Year holiday, market trading is sluggish
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