Coking coal and coke on the Dalian exchange dropped 2% and 1.5%, respectively.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
By Enrico Dela Cruz
April 26 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures were mixed on
Wednesday, with prices in Singapore rebounding modestly, while
the steelmaking ingredient's Dalian benchmark extended losses
after a China steel industry group urged producers to curb
output to keep themselves afloat.
Steel prices in China have sunk in the wake of a
disappointing pace of recovery in demand after Beijing removed
COVID-19 restrictions and rolled out measures to support the
struggling domestic property sector.
Weak prices pose severe challenges to steel mills, the China
Iron and Steel Association said at a meeting with several
steelmakers on Monday, urging them to cut output to help ensure
a stable cash flow.
Iron ore's benchmark May contract on the Singapore Exchange was up 0.4% at $102.85 a tonne, as of 0427 GMT, after
earlier hitting $99.90 a tonne. It has fallen 22%, however, from
a peak of $132 on March 15.
In contrast, the most-traded September iron ore on China's
Dalian Commodity Exchange ended morning trade 0.6%
lower at 715 yuan ($103.28) a tonne. Earlier in the session, it
hit 698 yuan, its lowest since Dec. 8.
Even if demand for steel products in China improves in the
future, iron ore will remain weak "for a long time" because of
the government's policy to curb output, Huatai Futures analysts
said in a note.
China is considering limiting its steel output this year,
according to analysts and recent unconfirmed reports, extending
a two-year-old policy aimed at curbing emissions by the world's
largest steel producer.
Mills were seen ramping up production in recent weeks ahead
of output caps.
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rebar slipped
0.1%, hot-rolled coil shed 0.4% and stainless steel dipped 0.3%, while wire rod climbed 1.9%.
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