Iron ore futures eased on Tuesday, extending losses into a third consecutive session, as slowing factory activity and weak steel demand in top consumer China weighed on market sentiment.

The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) TIO1! was down 1.71% at 775.5 yuan($108.87) a metric ton.

The benchmark December iron ore (SZZFZ5) on the Singapore Exchange lost 1.19% to $103.8 a ton, as of 0703 GMT.

China’s factory activity in October expanded at a slower pace as new orders and output weakened amid U.S. tariff concerns, according to a private-sector survey.

This reading was better than that of an official survey released on Friday, which showed factory activity shrank for a seventh consecutive month in October.

Iron ore prices typically rebound from early November to February before easing. However, significant losses from winter stockpiling in recent years, along with current high operating rates, may curb stockpiling enthusiasm this year, said Chinese broker Zhongtai Futures.

Steel consumption fell 5.7% and crude steel output declined 2.9% in the first three quarters of 2025, according to the state-backed China Iron and Steel Association.

China’s iron ore inventories have risen steadily since the third quarter amid rapidly weakening domestic steel demand, while imports have accelerated its recovery, leading to a bearish outlook for prices, said Chinese broker Galaxy Futures.

Still, improving market sentiment following last week’s easing of China-U.S. trade frictions helped limit losses, Chinese consultancy Mysteel said.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE fell, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1) losing 2.53% and 2.4%, respectively.

Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost ground. Rebar RBF1! fell 1.42%, hot-rolled coil EHR1! dropped 1.03%, wire rod (SWRcv1) lost 0.54% and stainless steel HRC1! declined 0.71%.
Source: Reuters