Iron ore still falling

Friday, 21 October 2011

Yesterday brought no respite for iron ore. The 12 months swaps market fell another 3.08% to a new low at $117 and Shanghai rebar was down 2.44%. Ore itself fell 1.3% to $145.80.

If you combine this with the dizzying crash of copper, 6% last night to a new correction low, you have to ask what these markets are signaling about the China slowdown.

In less unsettling news, FT Alphaville picked up yesterday’s discussion at MB on the implications of this volatility for the Australian economy.

About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.