Dalian iron ore drops 2.3%, Singapore futures shed 2.9% Rio...

• Dalian iron ore drops 2.3%, Singapore futures shed 2.9%
• Rio Tinto says Shanghai team returning to work
• Fortescue says mining and shipping activities continue

(Updates with closing prices, adds chart)

Iron ore futures in China and Singapore fell on Monday on renewed doubts over whether massive worldwide stimulus measures will be enough to buttress a global economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Worries about demand also hit steel futures in China, which accounts for more than half of the world's steel output and is the top exporter of ferrous metals.

The Dalian Commodity Exchange's DCIOcv1 most-active May iron ore contract ended 2.3% down at 645.50 yuan ($90.95) a tonne after dropping as much as 3.3%.

The steelmaking raw material's front-month April contract on the Singapore Exchange shed 2.9% in afternoon trade.

The United States' $2 trillion economic relief package and huge stimulus plans rolled out elsewhere have failed to ease worries about economic damage from prolonged and intensified virus-containment measures.

"With the world going into quarantine, commodity prices have tanked, with risk assets also likely (to be) vulnerable this week as the virus continues to spread," ING economists Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa wrote in a note.

China's central bank unexpectedly cut the rate on reverse repurchase agreements by 20 basis points on Monday - the largest cut in nearly five years - as authorities stepped up measures to relieve pressure on an economy ravaged by the pandemic.

Concern over iron ore supply disruption from lockdowns, which last week helped to lift spot and futures prices, appeared to have eased somewhat, with miner Rio Tinto (RIO) saying its Shanghai team would return to work as China recovers from the pandemic.

FUNDAMENTALS

• Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) said its mining, processing and shipping activities remained in line with its 2020 outlook.
• Australia's biggest iron ore miners are looking to reduce the threat to their operations by pushing workers to spend weeks on site away from families and relocate from the eastern seaboard.
• Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 fell 1.5% while hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 , used in cars and home appliances, slumped 1.2% and stainless steel SHSScv1 slipped by 1%.
• Coking coal DJMcv1 shed 0.8% while coke DCJcv1 lost 1.5%.
• Benchmark 62% iron ore for delivery to China SH-CCN-IRNOR62 settled at $87 a tonne on Friday, rebounding from a six-week low of $84.50 early last week, according to data from consultancy SteelHome. ($1 = 7.0976 yuan)

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Year-to-date performance of China's ferrous futures Image	https://reut.rs/33VxB4F 

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