The price of iron ore fell on Monday, and raw material prices fell as China's still tight lockdown on Covid-19 dampened market sentiment and fueled concerns that the recovery in the world's second-largest economy could lose its momentum.
According to Fastmarkets MB, 62 percent iron fines imported into northern China were changing hands at $150.65 per tonne in morning trade, down 2.23 percent from Friday's close.
“The previous market expectation was that (steel) demand would be delayed but not lacking,” GF Futures analysts wrote in a note.
“However, as the current pandemic is constantly spreading, there is relatively great uncertainty in its disruptions to the economy,” the note said, adding that consumption could be suppressed in April and May.
Shanghai, China's financial hub that began quarantine in late March, reported approximately 180,000 locally transmitted cases between March 1 and April 9, of which 96% were asymptomatic.
Atilla Widnell, managing director of Navigate Commodities in Singapore, said: "The covid outbreaks in China, the associated lockdowns and the way the government is handling them will continue to drive the sentiment and direction for iron ore futures in the near term." said.
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