MARKET OVERVIEW - Iron Ore Declines Amid Weak Demand and Impact of Chinese Real Estate Data

Iron ore futures prices declined to their lowest levels in the past week, affected by a drop in short-term demand and bearish sentiment from grim real estate data in China.

On the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), January iron ore futures settled at 793 yuan/ton ($108.94), down 0.69% in morning trading. The contract hit its lowest level since December 6 at 788 yuan/ton earlier in the session.

The benchmark iron ore for January on the Singapore Exchange reached a low of $103.2/ton, the lowest since December 9, before trading at $104.05/ton, down 0.72% as of 06:54 UTC.

China's crude steel production fell by 4.3% in October compared to the previous month due to contracting margins and seasonally weaker steel consumption, with analysts expecting further declines in December volumes.

According to data released today by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), real estate investments in China dropped 10.3% during January-October and fell by 10.4% in the first 11 months of 2024 compared to the previous year.

Analysts noted that last week’s two-day Central Economic Work Conference in China lacked details regarding sector-wide support, disappointing the market.

On the DCE, coking coal and coke fell by 3.38% and 2.48%, respectively.

Most steel indicators on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also experienced losses, with rebar down 0.74%, hot-rolled coil down 0.68%, and stainless steel down 0.95%, while wire rod increased by 0.25%.