Reuters reported that spot iron ore prices in China extended losses on Thursday amid lacklustre buying, as steel mills and traders remained concerned about steel demand in the fourth quarter, dragging key iron ore indexes to multi-week lows.
Chinese industry consultancy Umetal.com said offers of Indian ore with 63/63.5% Fe grade stayed flat at USD 186-188 per tonne on Thursday with traders adding that sales were mostly made at a lower range.
An iron ore trader in Shanghai said "Steel mills are unwilling to buy iron ore at higher than USD 187 from small mines and iron ore prices would likely fall further as steel demand could weaken over the next few months."
Traders said BHP Billiton sold Newman iron ore fines at USD 182 a tonne including freight at a tender held on Wednesday down about USD 1.35 from its previous deals.
The recent slide in prices has come on the heels of a swift and solid rally over the past two months which saw iron ore climb around 8% from July to above USD 190 a tonne last week amid strong steel output as well as the continued supply tightness in India.
The trader added that "We can't rule out any possibility that iron ore prices may fall to below USD 180 in the fourth quarter, given steel prices are still fluctuating while iron ore supply will rise as India's Goa region will resume exports after the monsoon season."
In a sign that China steel sector outlook was getting increasingly murky, local prices extended their recent losses as mills and traders fret over the renewed recession in the United States and the eurozone sovereign debt woes.
(Sourced from Reuters)
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