The Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price is sliding against the ASX 200 today.
Fortescue shares are down 0.31% and are currently trading at $20.725. However, in earlier trade, Fortescue shares fell nearly 2% to $20.41. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.2% today.
So what is going on with the Fortescue share price today?
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Iron ore price
Fortescue is not the only ASX 200 iron ore explorer in the red today. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are sliding 1.07%, while Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are slipping 1.38%.
Fortescue shares appear to be falling today amid a drop in the iron ore price in the US overnight.
In a research report today, ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said:
Base metals edged lower as the weak economic backdrop weighed on sentiment.
The iron ore price slid nearly 5% in global markets overnight amid a warning on China's property market from Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg reported.
This follows Citi analysts raising concerns about steel demand in China and cutting its iron ore prediction to US$100 a tonne in the third quarter.
Citi believes iron ore could drop to US$90 a tonne in the last three months of calendar year 2023, the publication noted.
Commenting on the iron ore outlook, China Industrial Futures Co analyst Wei Ying said: "We noticed some bulls are exiting", adding:
…the iron ore market will be in a slight surplus in the second half and we expect inventories at Chinese ports to increase.
ANZ strategists also have a US$95 a tonne forecast on the iron ore price.
However, iron ore futures for the contract month of July are currently up 0.67% to US$109.60 a tonne on the Singapore Exchange.
Fortescue share price snapshot
Fortescue has a market cap of about $63.8 billion based on the latest share price.
