Iron ore rebound continues

Red metal showing some strength. (File image)

Iron ore prices continued its strong rally on Monday, adding $3.50 or 3.4% to $105.10 a tonne after a record-setting 5.7% jump on Friday according to data supplied by SteelIndex.

Benchmark 62% iron ore fines at China’s Tianjin hit a three-and-a-half year low of $86.70 earlier this month and this time last year the commodity was still worth $177 a tonne.

Iron ore has been under pressure this quarter as China’s steel industry – responsible for consuming more than half the world’s annual iron ore output – struggles with rising inventories, overcapacity and overproduction.

Caijing reports Lejiang Xu, Chairman of China’s Baosteel Group, said during a company event on Monday that China’s iron and steel producers could experience another round of industry-wide losses in September.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics said that the country produced 2.54 million metric tons of steel per day in August, a 1.4% YoY increase. The increase rate was the lowest in 12 months.

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