BHP, Fortescue, Rio Tinto hit by tumbling iron ore prices
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The news: BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto all sank on the ASX as iron ore prices fell to their lowest levels since 2022.
The numbers: Futures lowered for a fourth consecutive day in Singapore, dropping by 2% to below USD94 a tonne ($141.87), before paring some losses.
The sell-off was driven by new data in China that showed mills reduced steel production to about 83 million tonnes last month, 9% lower than a year earlier, Bloomberg reported.
Australia's largest iron ore miners Rio Tinto (-3.8%), Fortescue (-2.1%) and BHP (-1%) were all trading lower on the ASX by 2:55pm AEST, as the materials sector shed 1.15% in a flat market.
The context: Steelmakers in China, the world's largest importer of seaborne iron ore, have cut output just as major miners boost exports.
The country's reduced steel production has sparked concerns that global iron ore supply is outstripping demand, compounding a downward trend over recent months that has seen benchmark prices fall by around a third this year.
The source: Bloomberg
