...when it happens, it happens Quickly. Iron ore bear market...

...when it happens, it happens Quickly.
Iron ore bear market deepens, dips below $US90

Alex Gluyas

Iron ore futures dived to the lowest since 2022 as China’s property crisis wreaks havoc on the steel industry, battering loss-making mills.

Futures in Singapore dropped 1.9 per cent to $US90.75 a tonne on Thursday, the lowest since November 2022. The steel-making commodity has slumped by more than a third this year and is down 10 per cent this week alone.

The dip comes as China’s steel production fell 9 per cent in July compared to a year earlier, and data through mid-August points to another 6 per cent dive. That would leave July and August steel production at the lowest level since 2018.

Westpac noted that is consistent with blast furnace operation in the Tangshan region given they are operating at the lowest level for this time of year going back to 2018.

“We are not at all surprised to see the crunch back towards $US90,” said Westpac head of commodity and carbon strategy Robert Rennie. “This next week will be important as to whether we crack below $US90.”