Iron ore drops on falling steel output – ING

Iron ore dropped after data showed China’s crude steel output falling the most in 10 months amid a prolonged slowdown in the country’s property market, ING's FX analyst Francesco Pesole notes.

Primary Aluminium production rises

"China’s steel output had its biggest drop in 10 months in June, falling 9.2% from the year before to 83.2 million tonnes. This left first-half production at its weakest since 2020. Iron ore is especially vulnerable to China's slowdown risks, as the country's property market constitutes the bulk of steel demand -- amounting to 40%."

"In other metals, primary aluminium production rose 3.4% year on year to 3.8mt in June as smelters increased output amid rising profit margins. Cumulatively, output increased 3.3% YoY to 22.4mt over the first six months of the year."