【Ferro-alloys.com】Iron-ore prices tumbled more than 6% on Monday, with the Dalian benchmark hitting its lowest in seven months, on rising portside stocks of the steelmaking ingredient in China due to increased shipments and weak domestic demand.

The most-traded iron-ore for January delivery on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange dropped as much as 6.8% to 722 yuan ($111.88) a tonne, its weakest since February 4, before ending daytime trading at 723 yuan.

Iron-ore's most-active October contract on the Singapore Exchange sank 8.3% at $131.10 a tonne by 0725 GMT.

Imported iron ore stocked at ports in China, the world's top steel producer, climbed to 131.40-million tonnes last week, the highest since end-April, SteelHome consultancy data showed.
Spot iron-ore in China tumbled to a two-week low of $145.50 a tonne on Friday, SteelHome data showed.

Iron-ore prices have fallen under the weight of "a monstrous four-million tonne" increase in weekly shipment from Australia in the last week of August, said Navigate Commodities MD Atilla Widnell.

Chinese iron-ore producers' plan to increase their domestic output by more than 100-million tonnes between 2021 and 2025 also added some pressure on prices, he said.

Some industry data showing China's weekly steel output had increased may have also prompted the continued iron ore sell-off, Widnell said.

"Increasing steel output occasionally has a counter-intuitive effect on iron ore prices given that retail investors sell the feedstock as they expect steel margins to compress," he said.

In sharp contrast, other steelmaking ingredients extended their record-setting rallies on supply concerns. Dalian coking coal soared 7.7% to a life-high 2 818 yuan a tonne, before closing at 2 778 yuan, while coke climbed 4.5%.

Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.7%, while hot-rolled coil gained 1.8%. Stainless steel hit its 7% upside limit, closing at a five-week peak of 19,585 yuan a tonne.

• [Editor:zhaozihao]