BEIJING, September 15 (Reuters) – China’s iron ore futures hit their nine-month low on Wednesday as steel production at the main producer continued to decline, deepening concerns over demand for raw materials.

China’s monthly crude steel production fell for the third consecutive month to 83.24 million tonnes in August, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, sending average daily production to the lowest since March 2020.

The Most Traded Iron Ore Futures Contracts on the Dalian Stock Exchange DCIOcv1, for delivery in January, fell 4.3% to 683 yuan ($ 106.02) per ton, the lowest since December 9, 2020. The contract was down 1.3% to 705 yuan at 03:30 GMT .

Spot prices for iron ore containing 62% iron for delivery to China fell from $ 2 to $ 125 a tonne on Tuesday, according to consultancy SteelHome. SH-CCN-IRNOR62

Prices for other steelmaking ingredients rose, however, as supplies remained tight.

Dalian Coking Coal Futures DJMcv1 jumped 1.1% to 2,765 yuan per ton and coke DCJcv1 rose 0.8% to 3,404 yuan per ton.

Chinese coke production in August amounted to 39.67 million tonnes, down 5% from the same month a year earlier.

“Global commodity prices are still at high levels, and future trends are still uncertain despite recent declines,” a spokesperson for the statistics office said in a briefing on Wednesday.

Construction used steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 fell 0.6% to 5,567 yuan per ton.

Hot rolled coils SHHCcv1 edged down 0.2% to 5,754 yuan per ton.

Stainless steel futures SHSScv1 on the stock market rose 3.4% to 19,610 yuan per ton.

The country’s real estate investment in August rose 0.3% from a year ago, the slowest pace in 18 months, while investment in fixed assets rose 8.9% on a annually during the first eight months of the year, according to the statistics bureau.

($ 1 = 6.4419 Chinese renminbi yuan)

(Reporting by Min Zhang and Shivani Singh; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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