Iron-ore tumbles as recession fears fuel commodities selloff

The spectre of a global recession fed an already clouded demand outlook for iron-ore in China, the world's biggest steel producer, where mills have idled dozens of blast furnaces recently in a bid to reduce high inventories amid weak orders.

Iron ore's most-traded September contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 6.9% lower at 747.50 yuan ($111.47) a tonne, extending losses to a second day.

On the Singapore Exchange, the steelmaking ingredient's front-month August contract was down 4.3% at $113.90 a tonne by 0703 GMT.

In the spot market, the benchmark 62%-grade material fell $2 to $122 a tonne on Thursday, wiping out its 2022 gains, SteelHome consultancy data showed.

"It's not just China where steel output is under pressure," said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING. "Expectations of slowing economic growth, and the growing risk of recession, are clearly not great for global steel demand."