Iron ore drops toward $100

November 11, 2024 (MLN): Iron ore fell toward $100 a ton as China’s planned debt swap program looked insufficient to some investors.

Futures declined 1.7% in Singapore, taking this year's decline to over 25%.

The steel-making staple has been hurt by China’s property slump and signs that miners are boosting production, Bloomberg reported.

With mills in the top producer struggling to sell steel domestically given the weak demand, exports of the alloy surged to the highest level since 2015 last month.

Port holdings of iron ore in China have expanded for the past four weeks to the highest level since early September. On a seasonal basis, the inventories are at their biggest ever for this time of year.

Iron ore futures fell 1.7% to $100.85 a ton as of 10:47am in Singapore after losing 2.8% on Friday. In China, yuan-priced contracts in Dalian dropped 2.3%, and steel futures in Shanghai also declined.

Shares of leading iron ore mining companies dropped in Australia, with BHP Group, Fortescue Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group all declining.

In base metals, copper added 0.2% to $9,458.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange after capping a sixth straight weekly decline. Aluminum rose 0.2%, while nickel dropped 0.9%.

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