Iron ore price hits five-week low as traders fret about Chinese demand
Iron ore has slumped 29% this year, hurt by the prolonged slowdown of China’s economy.
China’s refined tin output in July declined 13.1% from the prior month due to smelters’ maintenance, state-backed research house Antaike said on Wednesday, expecting August output to stay below a normal level amid Myanmar’s mining ban.
Production at 21 tin smelters surveyed by Antaike, with a total capacity of 320,000 metric tons and accounting for 97% of China’s total capacity, was at 13,428 metric tons last month.
The monthly decline was mainly attributed to Yunnan Tin, the world’s top refined tin producer, halting production.
Production at its tin branch would be suspended from July 11 for up to 45 days due to regular maintenance, Yunnan Tin said in a file to Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Last month saw China Tin, another leading producer, resume production after maintenance but at a slower-than-usual rate, Antaike noted.
As Myanmar’s mining ban took effect from August, ore shortage remained in the market, prompting more demand for scrap material.
Despite the monthly decline, July output of the metal used in electronics and semiconductor industries soared 210.1% from the same time a year earlier.
And Jan-July output rose 13.2% from the corresponding period last year, according to Antaike.
The International Tin Association expected the mining ban to cut China’s smelter output in the second half of this year.
(By Siyi Liu and Andrew Hayley; Editing by Louise Heavens)
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