Iron ore prices fall by about 2%, approaching $100 per ton

Iron ore prices fell for a second straight session, as investors were disappointed with China’s recent fiscal measures. Iron ore futures for December delivery on the Singapore Exchange fell 1.81% to $100.7 per ton at 10:57 a.m. Mecca time, after falling 2.5% earlier in the trading session, and 2.8% at the end of last Friday’s session. China unveiled a financial support package for local governments late last week to ease its debt crisis, but the measures did not address direct public spending, boost aggregate demand, or stimulate the struggling real estate sector. This added further pessimism to Beijing’s demand outlook for iron ore, of which Chinese port stocks have risen over the past four weeks to their highest level since early September, according to Bloomberg.