Iron ore continued its decline for the sixth consecutive day, marking its longest daily losing streak since August, as China’s steel industry enters a seasonal slowdown and optimism fades over the U.S.-China trade truce.
The key steel-making metal fell to $102.65 per ton, down more than 4% since last Wednesday’s close, ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea aimed at resetting trade relations between the world’s two largest economies.
China’s steel sector is experiencing a slowdown during the winter season due to reduced construction activity and increased factory maintenance, while iron ore imports at Chinese ports have recently picked up, adding further downward pressure on prices.
Mengtian Jiang, an analyst at China’s Horizon Insights, said the market had already priced in all positive macroeconomic expectations, but is now entering a recession period with limited new stimulants. She added that coking coal, another key steel-making input, has recently been strong, prompting traders to shift bullish bets from iron ore to coal amid other price pressures.
Iron ore futures in Singapore fell 0.1% to $103.40 per ton after earlier dropping 0.8%. Meanwhile, yuan-denominated contracts on the Dalian Exchange rose 0.1%, and steel futures in Shanghai saw slight gains.
