by Enrico De la Cruz
(Reuters) – Iron ore and steel futures contracts in China, the world’s biggest steel producer, fell on Friday, with the detection of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa and new cases of Covid-19 in Shanghai, raising investor concerns about the global economic recovery.
The Dalian iron ore benchmark contract, however, is expected to mark its first weekly gain since early October, after a five-session high driven by China’s moves to ease a liquidity crisis, with help from its property developers.
The most active iron ore contract for January on the Dalian Commodities Exchange closed down 6.7% to RMB 575.50 ($90.06) a tonne. However, it rose 9.5% this week.
On the Singapore Stock Exchange, the most traded December contract for the steel ingredient dropped 6% to $95.80 a ton.
“Markets remain cautious about China’s growth prospects, especially given the zero-Covid strategy, with Shanghai registering three new cases yesterday,” said Tapas Strickland, chief economics officer at National Australia Bank.
The detection of new cases led the Chinese financial center to limit tourist activities, while the city of Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu province reported a locally transmitted case that was a close contact with an infection in Shanghai.
The discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus now spreading in South Africa is also raising concerns, analysts said. The UK warned on Thursday that this could jeopardize efforts to fight the pandemic.
Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 2.5% after a six-session high, and hot rolled coil fell 1.4%.
Dalian coking coal closed down 7.3%, while coke lost 5.7%, after both posted a four-day high.
China’s 62%-grade iron ore spot reference price dropped $4.50/tonne on Friday to $102/tonne, after hitting the highest value since Nov. 1 on Thursday, according to with data from the SteelHome consultancy.
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