Iron ore hit one-month low

As per the data supplied by The Steel Index, the price of the Northern China import price of 62% Fe content ore fell 2.8% on Monday to a near one-month low of $59 per dry metric tonne.

Iron ore rallied 85% in 2016 and added another 12% in value so far this year.

The drop to one-month low has been fuelled by technical selling and rising inventories. Iron ore stocks at Chinese ports jumped to 130 million tonnes, the highest since at least 2004. However, as per Reuters report, the bulk of stocks is a low to medium-grade material and the availability of high-grade iron ore remains limited.

The retreat in iron ore prices could weigh over the Aussie dollar in the short-run.