The most-traded September iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.21% lower at 719.5 yuan ($104.06) a tonne, as of 0215 GMT.
"Demand has been somewhat suppressed by the (blast furnace) maintenance among some mills; but it's normal to see (iron ore) price rebound to some degree in the short term amid relativelty low inventories (at mills)," Huatai Futures said in a note, adding that downward pressure will persist in the long run. The other steelmaking ingredients- coking coal and coke slid by 3.75% and 1.37%, respectively. A few steel mills in China's top steel production hub-Tangshan kicked off the proposal to lower coke procurement prices by another 100 yuan a tonne on April 27, Mysteel said in a report, adding, this marked the fifth round of coke price drop within April. "This is not the end yet, and we expect to see a few more rounds of (coke) price falls ahead," a Shanghai-based steelmaking raw materials analyst said. Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.78% to 3,699 yuan a tonne, hot-rolled coil dipped 0.53%, wire rod dropped 0.45% while stainless steel gained 0.76%. China's biggest listed steelmaker, Baoshan Iron & Steel Co , on Thursday reported a 50.6% fall in first-quarter net profit due to high raw material prices and weaker demand. The markets in China will be closed over May 1-3 for a public holiday. ($1 = 6.9144 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Amy Lv and Dominique Patton in Beijing)
