Iron ore extended declines as mining giant BHP Group Ltd. reported falling profits on softer Chinese demand and plentiful global supply.
The steelmaking ingredient lost as much as 0.6% in Singapore, declining for a fifth straight session.
BHP blamed weaker iron ore and coal prices for its sliding profits, but chief executive officer Mike Henry also expressed confidence in an earnings statement in the “long-term fundamentals of steelmaking materials, copper and fertilizers.”
China’s export growth may slow, but it will likely remain elevated due to the country’s competitiveness, BHP said in the company’s economic and commodity outlook published Tuesday. Recent infrastructure announcements, including a major dam project in Tibet, also underscore Beijing’s policy flexibility, it said.
This outlook from BHP is a positive sign for the steel market, which has stuttered as the Chinese economy matures and a years-long property slump there shows no sign of ending. The miner said rising earnings from its copper assets offset the pressure on iron ore and coal.
Infrastructure spending and manufacturing expansion in India are expected to drive a sharp rise in metals demand, Graham Slack, BHP’s head of market analysis and economics, said in the outlook report. India, which exported an average of 30 million tons of iron ore annually over the past nine years, is likely to become an “opportunistic importer,” particularly during periods of domestic supply disruption, he said.
Iron ore fell 0.5% to $100.95 a ton in Singapore as of 12:05 p.m. local time, while yuan-priced futures on the Dalian exchange and steel contracts in Shanghai declined. Copper rose 0.3% on the London Metal Exchange, while aluminum dropped 0.3% and nickel was also lower. (By Katharine Gemmell)
