Iron ore futures inched down after a choppy session as trade participants became more cautious over slowing steel production.
The futures of Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) for January delivery then dipped slightly by 0.19% day-on-day or down RMB 1.50 to RMB 769.50/mt, during the day trading session on Tuesday.
The rebar futures also went down by 4.24% day-on-day or down RMB 246 to RMB 5,562/mt, during the day trading session.
Slight gain to daily curb steel output in early October
The daily crude steel output inched up slightly, despite the return of trade participants from holidays and better restocking activities among mills.
As Mysteel recorded daily crude steel output at an average of 2.6 million per day during Oct 1-10, up 0.6% from previous ten-day period.
Market participants expected relaxation of steel output restriction later in the month and in November, though there were no official instructions on this matter, while some trade participants anticipated stricter steel output curbs to be pushed back to early 2022 in view of the Beijing’s Winter Olympics.
More iron ore exports from Port Hedland in September
China received more iron ore shipments from Port Hedland in September after a two-month decline, according to the Pilbara Port Authority.
During September, the iron ore shipment bound for China reached 38.6 million mt, up 7.5% on-month, unaffected by bad weather and maintenance periods.
However, the combined iron ore exports from Australia and Brazil seemed to decrease in early October, as Mysteel recorded 24.1 million mt of iron ore shipments over the Oct 4-10 period, down 12.1% on-week, due to ongoing steel output cuts in China that reduced raw material demands.