Iron ore drops 1.5% to 756 yuan/ton as China’s May crude steel output falls 2.7%

Iron ore and nickel prices fell in early Asian trade. The most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange slipped 1.5% to 756 yuan a ton after China’s May crude steel output fell 2.7% year on year to 84.35 million tons, with weak property demand weighing on consumption. On the London Metal Exchange, three-month nickel edged down 0.2% to $17,965 a ton as ANZ analysts cited worries over volatility tied to China’s warning on Indonesia’s nickel policies and softer Chinese economic data.