Chinese steel futures fell nearly 2% on Thursday as demand in the world's biggest steel consumer slowed as winter construction activity was curbed despite...
Steel prices fell even as data showed November output fell to a nine-month low as the Chinese government ordered mills to cut output to curb air pollution. Steelmaking raw materials such as coking coal and coking coal also fell by about 4%.
Construction activity in northern China may be hampered by cold weather, which could dampen steel demand, said Richard Lu, an analyst at consultancy CRU.
Steel purchases by some construction companies may slow as they try to pay off debt at the end of the year.
The most-active rebar contract for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 1.6 percent at 3,786 yuan ($573) a tonne, extending a 2.4 percent drop on Wednesday.
Construction steel output rose to a three-month high last week as steel inventories fell to their lowest this year.
Rebar held by traders stood at 2.85 million tonnes as of Dec. 9, the lowest since December 2011, according to SteelHome consultancy. China's daily crude steel output fell to 2.2 million tonnes in November from 2.3 million tonnes the previous month. Despite the fall in steel prices, many traders are still hesitant to buy, believing current prices are still high.
Coking coal on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 3.8 percent to 1,236.5 yuan a tonne. Coke fell 4.2 percent to 1,998 yuan. Iron ore delivered to Qingdao port fell 1 percent to $70.54 a tonne on Monday, according to Metal Bulletin data.