* Dalian iron ore edges down
* China's Q1 GDP seen to log first decline on record
(Adds details; Updates with closing prices)
BEIJING, April 16 (Reuters) - China's iron ore futures
dropped on Thursday, after a poll showed the country's GDP
growth for the March quarter is expected to decline for the
first time in nearly three decades.
Analysts anticipate China's gross domestic product to have
shrunk 6.5% in the first three months compared with a year
earlier knocked by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a
Reuters poll. Beijing will unveil the key economic indicators on Friday.
Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 ,
for September delivery, ended down 0.3% at 606 yuan ($85.63) per
tonne.
Stainless steel futures' SHSScv1 contract for June, which
closed at over a seven-week high on Wednesday, slipped back and
ended down 2.3% at 12,695 yuan per tonne.
"The long-term impact on consumption brought by the
coronavirus cannot be neglected," Jinrui Futures wrote in a
note, adding that despite traders' restocking demand, it's still
hard to see "obvious growth" in short term.
FUNDAMENTALS
* October contract of construction rebar SRBcv1 on the
Shanghai Futures Exchange edged up 0.2% to 3,385 yuan a tonne
after China posted higher new home prices for March.
* New home prices in China returned to growth in March after
stalling for the first time in five years in February,
suggesting some pent-up demand as the impact from the
coronavirus outbreak on the property market gradually fades.
* Hot-rolled coil SHSScv1 , used in the manufacturing
sector, rose 0.8% to 3,234 yuan a tonne.
* Dalian coking coal DJMcv1 gained 0.4% to 1,137 yuan per
tonne while Dalian coke DCJcv1 fell 0.3% to 1,717 yuan a
tonne.
* More than 2 million people have been reported to be
infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 136,667 have
died, according to a Reuters tally. * The Japan Iron and Steel Federation will skip release of
monthly crude steel output this month as it is unable to compile
data after the government declared a state of emergency to curb
the nation's coronavirus outbreak, an official at the federation
said on Thursday. * The Kazakh iron ore unit of mining and metals conglomerate
Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) is increasing exports to China to
offset declining demand in the former Soviet Union, the company
said on Wednesday. = 7.0766 Chinese yuan renminbi)