Singapore — Iron ore is at risk of extending declines in the coming weeks after a drum-beat of warnings about a pull-back helped spur the biggest one-day slump in more than a year, intensifying investor concern about rising supplies and hammering miners’ shares. "It just appears to be a real capitulation phase going on in iron ore at the moment," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said after the benchmark spot price collapsed 8.5% on Wednesday to the lowest since November 7. "This process may have further to go before we begin to reach a base, which is somewhere more like in the $50 to $60 range." Iron ore entered a bear market last week as a procession of analysts, Australia’s government and even some miners said the gains — to their highest since 2014 — were unsustainable. The potential for a significant drop was foreseen, given a possible downturn in Chinese construction, increased supplies and high inventory levels at ports, according to Spooner. Steel p...
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