Bloomberg reports on a bear-market turn for iron ore:
- Ore with 62 percent content fell 1% to US$74.71 a dry ton on Monday
- Prospect raised of a drop into the US$50s
- Negative outlooks from Barclays, Australia’s central bank and mining companies helped push price down
- Barclays: the price weakness is a result of slackening in end-use steel, which led to a switch to abundant lower-quality ores
- Axiom Capital Management: “The timing is ripe” for bets on lower prices. There are increased mine supplies and tentative signs that China’s record stockpiles may be starting to be sold off
- China’s tightening real-estate market restrictions could put pressure on construction steel demand