Iron ore fell after fresh data spotlighted concerns around China’s struggling steel-intensive property sector, even as authorities step up pressure on cities to shore up real estate markets.
The steelmaking staple reversed the 1.3% gain posted earlier in the session after figures showed the value of new home sales by the 100 biggest developers plunged by a third in July from a year earlier, the most in 12 months. China’s State Council is now urging cities to deploy new property policies to ensure the health of the sector, although no specific measures have been announced.
The real estate industry accounts more than a third of steel consumption in the country, and demand has waned for more than a year. The sector has been a major part of China’s disappointing post-pandemic economic recovery that’s seen iron ore prices drop around a fifth from a February peak.
Read the full story on Bloomberg here.