Market Outlook: Iron Ore Declines as China's Stimulus Falls Short of Expectations

Forex - Iron ore futures declined in today's trading and are heading towards a weekly loss due to the lack of investor impact from China's promise of further stimulus to support its struggling economy. The January iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trading at 795.5 yuan/ton ($109.34), down 1.3%. The contract has dropped 0.06% so far this week, ending a three-week rally. The benchmark January iron ore on the Singapore Exchange fell by 2.32% to $103.6/ton at 06:30 GMT but gained 2.65% this week. Analysts noted that markets are greatly disappointed due to the absence of concrete details from China's Central Economic Work Conference, despite the Politburo's hopeful start to the week. Other steel production components on the DCE weakened, with coking coal and coking falling by 1.77% and 2.88%, respectively. Steel indicators on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also faced losses, with rebar down 1.55%, hot-rolled coil and wire rod down 1.77%, and stainless steel down 0.46%.