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Iron ore and steel futures hit rock bottom because of worries about China's demand.
China's iron ore and steel futures fell on Tuesday, September 20. News about a plan to loosen the country's border restrictions wasn't enough to make up for worries about the country's continued zero-Covid policy and failing real estate market, which are keeping demand low. A lot of people were also careful because the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by a lot this week.
On China's Dalian Commodity Exchange, the most-traded January iron ore ended the day 3.1% lower at 696 yuan (S$139.7) a tonne. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rebar fell 1.5% and hot-rolled coil fell 2%. Dalian coking coal fell 1.1%, which was also a step back, and coke cut its gains to 1%. The price of stainless steel in Shanghai went down by 0.3%. The price of stainless steel in Shanghai went down by 0.3%.
After months of the border being closed because of the pandemic, Beijing put out a draft of rules that would make it easier for some foreigners to visit China to see tourist sites along its border.
China also reported fewer new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, and for the fourth day in a row, Beijing said there were no new cases in China.
In a note, analysts at Zhongzhou Futures said, "Iron ore has good short-term fundamentals and prices are supported, but demand for finished (steel) products is not good."
Hopes also went down for more policy help in the near future to help China's economy, which has been hit hard by Covid-19 restrictions and a drop in the property market.
China had to make a hard decision on Tuesday to keep its benchmark lending rates the same. They did this to balance the need to support economic growth with the need to keep the yuan from falling too much.