Iron ore prices tumbled towards 100 dollars a tonne in July 2022 as Chinese steel mills, deep in losses, cut output and stopped buying. The benchmark 62 percent iron ore price fell 4.41 percent to about 109.89 dollars a tonne on 11 July, while the Dalian futures contract traded near 107 dollars a tonne. Prices had been around 157 dollars a tonne in March, and the slide reflected a sharp change in the market: mills that had been restocking in the spring were now idling furnaces and working through inventories. Chinese steel demand was weak, construction was slow, and the property market showed no sign of recovery. The fall eased some pressure on mill margins, but it also signalled that the industry expected demand to stay soft. Prices did not actually break below 100 dollars in July, but the direction was clear, and traders watched for further falls.
Source: MetalMiner — https://agmetalminer.com/2022/07/11/china-steel-mills-hurting-iron-ore-prices-reeling/
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).