Iron ore futures prices slipped for a second consecutive session on Thursday, as mounting global supplies weighed on market sentiment.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.63% lower at 794.5 yuan ($112.42) a metric ton.
The benchmark January iron ore (SZZFF6) on the Singapore Exchange was flat, as of 0719 GMT.
The first commercial shipment from the Simandou mine in Guinea is on its way to China, marking a shift in global supply, ANZ analysts said, adding that the mine is set to become one of the world’s biggest iron ore mines.
India’s iron ore imports climbed this year to a six-year high, more than doubling to more than 10 million tons in the first 10 months of 2025 year-on-year.
This was driven by steel mills turning to overseas cargoes to overcome shortages of high-grade ore and taking advantage of softer global prices for the steelmaking raw material.
Germany’s largest steelmaker, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe TKA, announced that it had agreed with the IG Metall union to cut or outsource 40% of its workforce and ease production capacity, reducing shipments to 8.7 million to 9 million tons, from 11.5 million at present.
Broadly, China is likely to stick to its current annual economic growth target of around 5% next year, as part of Beijing’s efforts to start a new five-year plan aimed at overcoming the effects of a prolonged property slump, weak consumer demand, excess factory capacity, and declines in infrastructure-led investment.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained ground, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1) up 1.11% and 1.69%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up. Hot-rolled coil EHR1! edged 0.15% higher, wire rod (SWRcv1) climbed 0.68%, and rebar RBF1! increased 0.35%, while stainless steel HRC1! eased 0.32%.
Source: Reuters
