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Iron ore falls to a two-week low due to weak China factory data

The iron ore futures price fell for the second consecutive session on Thursday, hitting their lowest level in two weeks as a result of weaker than expected July factory activity figures in China's top consumer.

The September contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the daytime trading 2.38% lower, at 779 Yuan ($108.32), the lowest price since July 17.

As of 0748 GMT on the Singapore Exchange, benchmark September iron ore fell by 1.83%, to $99.85 per ton. This is its lowest price since July 16.

An official survey released on Thursday showed that China's manufacturing activity declined for the fourth consecutive month in July. This suggests a decline in exports due to higher U.S. duties, while domestic demand remains sluggish.

Prices for the main steelmaking ingredient slid on Wednesday, as hopes of Beijing announcing more stimuli measures during a Politburo meeting in July that sets the economic course of the rest of the year faded.

ANZ analysts wrote in a report that the policy statement from a Chinese leaders' meeting left investors underwhelmed.

It included a more aggressive fiscal agenda and moderately lax monetary policies. The readout did not provide details on large-scale stimuli measures," they said.

Also, other steelmaking ingredients lost ground. The price of coke and coking coal both fell by 4.93% and 8% respectively.

The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have fallen. Rebar fell by 4.19%, while hot-rolled coils dropped by 3.56%. Wire rods also declined 4.46%. Stainless steel lost 1.04%.

(source: Reuters)