Iron ore continues to fall, led by rebar prices in Shanghai:
Dalian futures are trying to base:
Coking coal is being murdered:
Scuttlebutt is all bad:
“Focus has shifted back to weak fundamentals from stimulus-driven expectations of demand picking up; supply will likely maintain high in June while there is limited upside room for demand,” said Cheng Peng, a Beijing-based analyst at Sinosteel Futures.
The consumption of steelmaking ingredients shrank along with falling hot metal output, while portside stocks continued to pile up, putting ore prices under downward pressure, analysts at Huatai Futures said in a note.
“But some steel mills may return to stockpile cargoes to meet production needs over the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival following persistent price falls, which may limit price loss,” Sinosteel’s Cheng added.
…The apparent consumption of medium plate, HRC and construction steel products shrank more steeply this week, data from information provider Zhaogang showed.
“The data is worse than we had expected, so prices will fall further,” a Singapore-based trader said.
The suspension of construction activities for the upcoming National College Entrance Examination in many Chinese cities also curbed steel demand, analysts said.
We typically see price stabilisation in a few more weeks as summer construction demand picks up.
That said, the market is weak.
