Chinese iron ore futures hit their lowest in more than three weeks on Tuesday following news that Brazil’s average daily exports of the steel-making raw material this month outpaced shipments a year earlier, despite last month’s mine disaster.
The Chinese ferrous market, however, ended a volatile session with construction steel rebar extending its rise into a fourth session, as optimism over a possible trade deal between Beijing and Washington waned.
The most-traded iron ore contract for May delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended down 3.2 percent at 593.5 yuan ($88.60) a ton, having fallen as much as 4.4 percent earlier in the day.
The most-active construction steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange see-sawed between losses and gains, before closing 0.3 percent higher at 3,736 yuan a ton, the highest in more than two weeks.
Although U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he may soon sign a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to end a trade war, China will not likely agree to the more important U.S. demands such as a fundamental restructuring of its economy, said analyst Edward Meir of INTL FCStone Financial.
“The overall uncertainty surrounding the global trade picture that has been with us for much of the last year will likely not lift anytime soon,” Meir said.