Chinese iron ore and steel futures tumbled on 20 May 2021 after Beijing stepped up warnings against speculation in commodity markets. September iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 5.7 percent lower at 1,142.50 yuan ($177.40) a tonne, after touching a three-week low, and stood 16 percent below the record 1,358 yuan reached on 12 May. Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed 4.7 percent and hot-rolled coil fell 4.5 percent, extending a losing streak that took steel prices to five-week lows. The sell-off followed a State Council meeting that vowed to strengthen management of commodity supply and demand to curb what it called unreasonable price rises. Regulators also raised trading margins and fees on the exchanges. The intervention marked a turning point: after months of record prices, the market began to price in the risk that Beijing would act directly against the rally, and attention shifted to whether physical demand could support prices without speculative buying.
Source: Engineering News (Reuters) — https://engineeringnews.co.za/article/iron-ore-slumps-as-china-steps-up-efforts-to-curb-soaring-prices-2021-05-20
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