Iron ore miners lower as China faces further export barriers
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The news: Shares in iron ore giants Fortescue, BHP and Rio Tinto all retreated as a pick up in supply and further trade barriers to Chinese steel exports weighed on iron ore futures prices.
The numbers: Fortescue (-2.7%), BHP (-1%) and Rio Tinto (-0.3%), as well as Champion Iron (-2.8%), were trading lower at 3:20pm AEDT, dragging the materials sector down 1% as the ASX 200 index fell 0.6%.
Benchmark iron ore futures on the Singapore Exchange were down 1.6% to USD105.90 ($166.7) per tonne.
The context: The latest decline follows the introduction of legislation in the US by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to toughen trade enforcement laws and address the impact of Chinese-supported companies moving portions of their production to other countries to avoid US duties, Reuters said.
Meanwhile, Vietnam followed South Korea and other nations to impose temporary anti-dumping tariffs on some steel products from China. The move comes after the US imposed 25% tariffs on all steel imports earlier this month.
Elsewhere, iron ore export volumes from Australia and Brazil doubled week on week, according to data from Chinese consultancy Mysteel, adding further downward pressure to prices.
