Iron ore futures dipped in the choppy session, following the recent downward momentum on bearish market outlook.
The futures of Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) for January delivery then fell by 1.46% day-on-day or down RMB 10.50 to RMB 711/mt, during the day trading session on Tuesday.
The rebar future plunged sharply at the afternoon session by 3.48% day-on-day or up RMB 198 to RMB 5,492/mt, during the day trading session.
Slow restocking activities before Golden week
Trade participants expected further steel output cuts in near term, while the restocking activities before Golden week holidays in October seemed not to be picking up paces as before.
As iron ore demand remained low despite seasonal restocking activities ahead of the Chinese National Holidays in early October, while supply was at higher levels with many October loading cargoes available in the spot market.
Furthermore, trade participants expected more stable iron shipments in Q4, as miners ramped up their productions on better weather conditions.
Stable iron ore shipments in early September
The total volume of iron ore shipments from Australia and Brazil reached 25.8 million mt during the Sep 6-12 period, up 0.5% on-week, according to Mysteel’s survey.
The export volumes rebounded after two weeks of lower shipments, with more Australian shipments over its Brazilian counterpart.
Some trade participants expected the more shipments to relieve the lower inventory at Tangshan ports, where port stocks were tighter and more expensive than in Shandong ports.