Dalian iron ore was flat on Monday, while Singapore prices slumped nearly 2 percent, as traders took a breather after last week’s strong gains and turned cautious ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival holidays and Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Iron ore’s most-traded iron ore for May delivery on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the morning session 0.1 percent lower at 752 yuan ($118.75) a ton, after hitting 771.50 yuan in early trade, its highest since Oct. 13.
The steelmaking ingredient’s most-active March contract on the Singapore Exchange fell 1.9 percent to $134.50 a ton by 0334 GMT, after touching a contract high of $141.40 a ton earlier in the session.
The Spring Festival holiday in top steel producer China runs from Jan. 31 until Feb. 6, but steel mills’ operations are expected to remain curtailed throughout February to improve air quality during the Beijing Games.
