Iron's Rally Gives Way to Rout as China Futures Post Record Loss

  • Banchero sees correction after prices have gained ‘too much’
  • Singapore’s SGX AsiaClear contract declines for a sixth day

A bucket wheel reclaimer collects iron ore from a stockpile.

Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
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Iron ore is getting beaten down after a flurry of warnings that gains may be vulnerable. Futures in China have posted an unprecedented weekly loss; the most-active contract in Singapore is lower for a sixth day; and spot prices had the biggest slump since November.

“It’s an overdue correction in prices, which have risen too much,” Ralph Leszczynski, head of research at shipbroker Banchero Costa & Co., said in an email on Friday, while cautioning that the drop has come despite a positive underlying picture. “Fundamentals for iron ore remain very strong at present.”