Chinese steel rebar and iron ore futures continue to slide

Reuters reported that Chinese steel and iron ore futures dropped for a sixth day in a row trading near all time lows, as worries over the Chinese economy blurred the demand outlook.

The most active rebar for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped to as low as CNY 3,299 per tonne, a tad off the record trough of CNY 3,295 reached on Tuesday. It was little changed at CNY 3,317 at the close.

The May iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange also the most traded, hit a contract low of CNY 811 per tonne before rebounding to CNY 820 up CNY 1.

Concerns over China, the world's top user of steel and iron ore, heightened this week as local media reports of tighter lending conditions were followed by a steep drop in the yuan which traders suspect was due to intervention by the central bank in its bid to add volatility to the currency in preparation for reform.