*
Coking coal falls to five-month low
*
Steel dragged by falling raw materials prices
*
Pre-holiday restocking less active than expected
(Updates prices and adds bullet points)
By Amy Lv and Dominique Patton
BEIJING, April 21 (Reuters) - Dalian and Singapore iron
ore futures fell for a third straight session on Friday to near
four-month lows, as subdued buying interest from steel mills and
a pick-up in port inventories undermined investor sentiment.
The most-traded September iron ore on the Dalian Commodity
Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trading 4.82% lower at a
near four-month low of 730.5 yuan ($105.96) a tonne.
On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark May iron ore was 5.82% lower at $108.65 a tonne, as of 0708 GMT, the
lowest since Dec. 28, 2022.
"Mills' buying interest (in spot iron ore cargoes) ahead of
the upcoming (May 1-3) holiday is weaker than expected, weighing
on spot prices and sending pressure to futures markets as well,"
said Yu Chen, a Shanghai-based analyst at consultancy Mysteel.
Iron ore inventories at the 45 major Chinese ports surveyed
increased by 1.23 million tonnes, or 1%, on the week to 130.35
million tonnes in the week, as of April 21, Mysteel data showed.
"The drastic fall (in iron ore prices) on Friday resulted
from the joint impact of several negative signs. The
worse-than-expected 19.2% year-on-year fall in new housing
starts in the past quarter suggested weak demand for raw
materials," said Pei Hao, a Shanghai-based analyst at
international brokerage firm FIS.
"Also, supply will be sufficient in the near term, based on
the latest quarterly results from the top three suppliers."
Steel-making ingredients coking coal and coke dropped 3.51% and 2.51%, respectively.
Steel futures were mostly down. Rebar on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange slid by 2.28% to a near five-month low
of 3,810 yuan a tonne, hot-rolled coil declined 2.27%,
and stainless steel dipped 0.29%. Wire rod increased 0.54%.
($1 = 6.8944 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Dominique Patton in Beijing; Editing
by Sohini Goswami and Subhranshu Sahu)
