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Dalian iron ore retreats to one-week low
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SGX iron ore falls back below $130/tonne
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China to cut annual steel output - report
(Updates prices)
By Enrico Dela Cruz
March 16 (Reuters) - Dalian and Singapore iron ore
futures slumped on Thursday, along with steel benchmarks in
China as sentiment soured, mirroring a broader risk aversion
triggered by fears of a banking crisis.
Top steel producer China's reported plan to again cut annual
crude steel production this year also weighed on iron ore and
other steelmaking ingredients, along with tepid Chinese property
sector data.
The most traded May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity
Exchange ended daytime trade 2.8% lower at 902 yuan
($130.75) a tonne after earlier hitting 897.50 yuan, its weakest
since March 9.
On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark April iron ore was down 2.9% at $128.35 a tonne, as of 0700 GMT.
"The international macro volatility has intensified,"
Sinosteel Futures analysts said in a note.
Asian stocks slid and investors turned to the safety of
gold, bonds and dollars, as embattled lender Credit Suisse
became the latest focal point for fears of a banking crisis. Also, "policy risks continue to increase", adding to iron
ore's price volatility, Sinosteel analysts added.
China will again cut annual crude steel production in 2023,
making it the third consecutive year that the government has
mandated an output limit in line with its emission reduction
programme, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
No official announcement has been made about the plan.
In the absence of any official directive on production
restrictions, and with the overall outlook positive for China's
economic rebound this year, Sinosteel said there was a "high
probability" that steel mills will maintain "a stable increase
in production" during the first half of 2023.
Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed 3.5%,
hot-rolled coil also fell 3.5%, wire rod tumbled 4.6%, while stainless steel dropped 1.1%.
On the Dalian exchange, coking coal and coke slumped 4.5% and 3%, respectively.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Rashmi
Aich and Sonia Cheema)
