Iron ore's red-hot rally flames out

Singapore

IRON ore's explosive ascent seems to have ended as abruptly as it began.

The ferrous commodity suffered steep losses over the past week on the reversal of the demand and supply-driven factors that had led to it scaling a five-year high in late May, after it burst past the US$100 tonne mark.

"We believe the rally to US$100 is now complete," said Societe Generale in a recent mining report, adding that it expects prices to weaken over the third and final quarters.

Iron ore prices have pulled back sharply since end-May on expectations that shipments from Br…