The slump in the steelmaking ingredient shows how top consumer China could sway the market at a time when there’s booming demand in the broader commodities market as economies reopen from the worst of the pandemic.
Iron ore fell below US$100 a metric ton for the first time in 14 months as China’s moves to clean up its heavy-polluting industrial sector drive down demand for the steel.
Futures prices sank to as low as US$99.50 on the Singapore Exchange and wavered around US$100 through the overnight trading session, which is daytime trading hours in the US Iron ore has plunged more than 55% since peaking in May as the world’s biggest steelmaker intensifies production curbs to meet a target for lower volumes this year, and a sharp downturn in China’s property sector hurts demand.
