SINGAPORE- Dalian iron ore futures fell more than 2 percent on Thursday as Chinese authorities intervened to control soaring prices and fresh weak property data fueled concerns about demand from a key steel-consuming sector.
The most-traded January iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 2.6 percent to 955 yuan ($131.58) per metric ton, hitting its lowest in a week.
On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark December iron ore was down 1.1 percent at $128.65 a ton.
“The recent sentiment-driven surge in iron ore prices has caught the attention of Chinese authorities,” said Atilla Widnell, managing director at Navigate Commodities.
“The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is investigating what they consider to be “unreasonably high” prices, and the Dalian has adjusted iron ore futures trading limits.”
China’s state-backed Dalian Commodity Exchange on Wednesday set a limit on daily trading volumes for iron ore futures at no more than 500 lots on contracts for January to May 2024 delivery.
