The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade 0.14% lower at 703 yuan ($97.90) a metric ton, posting a weekly drop of 0.7%.
The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange lost 0.15% to $94.4 a ton, as of 0723 GMT, a decline of 1.2% so far this week. The contract, which has been below the key psychological level of $100 for nearly a month, hit its lowest level since April 10 at $93.65 earlier in the session.
A range of imported household appliances, including dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators and more will be subject to Trump’s 50% steel tariffs from June 23. It’s largely a sentiment-driven reaction and isn’t likely to have a significant impact on China’s steel market in the near term, as any effects will take time to filter through, said two Chinese analysts on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media.
Demand for iron ore, the key steelmaking ingredient, remained firm, helping to limit losses. Average daily hot metal output, a gauge of iron ore demand, hovered at around 2.42 million tons for a third consecutive week in the week as of June 12, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
