Iron ore demand set to fall next year

Iron ore demand is expected to fall further in China next year as the country continues to scale down steel output, according to forecast by an industry organization on Monday.

Demand for iron ore will fall by 4.2 percent in 2016 from a year ago, said the forecast, made by the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute. Steel production will fall by 3.1 percent to 781 million metric tons during the same period, as economic growth continues to moderate.

Iron ore demand, which may fall by 0.4 percent this year, will decline by 4.2 percent in 2016 to around 1.07 billion tons.