The decline in the price of iron ore over the past two weeks turned into a rout on Thursday as worries about new supply combined with fears that Chinese steel production may have peaked.

The Steel Index benchmark price for Northern China 62% Fe ore sank by 7.4% to trade at $63.00 a tonne on Thursday, an 11-week low. Year-to-date iron ore has lost 20.8% of its value. Lower grades came in for greater punishment ith 58% Fe fines delivered to the port of Qinqdao falling 13.7% to $44.10 according to TSI.

Chinese imports constitute around 70% of the seaborne trade and while 2017 shipments are in line with record imports of over 1 billion tonnes last year, supply continues to grow particularly from major producers in Australia and Brazil

A new report from BMI Research forecasts modest growth in global output over the next five years as a drop in domestic Chinese production and a slowdown in Australia offset strong growth in Brazil and India.