Rebar futures drop as producer prices decline

Steel reinforcement-bar futures in China fell for the first time in five sessions after the government said the decline in factory-gate prices deepened, raising concern that an economic slowdown may be protracted. Rebar for delivery in October on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.3 percent to close at 3,621 yuan ($584.75) a metric ton. Before Thursday, futures rebounded 3.9 percent from a five-month low of 3,530 yuan on May 2. The producer price index fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier, after March's 1.9 percent drop.

Industrial metals retreat with China's weaker demand