* Chinese markets shut on Thursday and Friday
* Big military parade in Beijing on Thursday
Iron ore futures in China steadied along with spot prices as mills in the world's biggest steel producer limited or halted output ahead of a big military parade in Beijing on Thursday.
The parade will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two and heavy industries in and around the Chinese capital have curbed operations well ahead of the event as authorities clear the skies.
Chinese markets will be shut on Thursday and Friday.
"I heard a few mills in Hebei and Tianjin have already stopped production. That would probably be for three to four days and I don't expect it to have a big impact on the market," said a Shanghai-based trader.
Some Chinese mills have undertaken maintenance repair during this period, he said.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 0.3 percent at 388 yuan ($61) a tonne by midday.
On Tuesday, iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI was unchanged at $55.70 a tonne, according to The Steel Index.
Iron ore, used in making steel, has recovered from a decade-low of $44.10 in July. Expectations of additional supply later in the year had capped further gains in the raw material as China's steel prices struggle.
China's crude steel consumption dropped 5.2 percent in January-July, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.It declined more than 3 percent last year, the first fall since 1981.
Construction-used rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.2 percent to 1,955 yuan a tonne, not far from an all-time low of 1,917 yuan touched last week.
Source: Reuters |
