SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures retreated from two-month highs on Monday as China’s state-backed iron ore buyer eased a ban on a product from top miner BHP until next week, while weaker steel output and property data weighed on sentiment. The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.92% higher/lower at 807.5 yuan ($117.08) a metric ton, as of 0237 GMT. The benchmark April iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.75% lower at $106.9 a ton. China will ease a ban on BHP’s Jimblebar fines, an iron ore product, until next week, sources said on Friday, only a day after Beijing expanded restrictions against its third-largest supplier. China Mineral Resources Group, the state-run iron ore buyer, told domestic steel mills that they could take delivery of Jimblebar fines already at ports for around a week, said three sources with knowledge of the matter on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. The exception will only apply to steelmakers, not traders. CMRG barred steelmakers and traders from purchasing Jimblebar fines in September, and has progressively expanded its restrictions, most recently this week, as it negotiates terms of BHP’s 2026 supply contract. The world’s top steelmaker produced 160.34 million tons of crude steel in January-February, down 3.6% year-on-year, the statistics bureau said on Monday. This comes after Beijing promised to cut industrial output, including steel, in an orderly manner as the country grapples with persistent overcapacity. Home prices in China continued to fall in February, indicating the troubled property sector is still far from recovery despite tentative signs of improvement in the country’s biggest cities. Iron ore inventory at major Chinese ports increased by 2.24%, data from consultancy Steelhome showed on March 13. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE hardened, with coking coal and coke up 1.78% and 0.86%, respectively. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange mostly firmed. Rebar gained 0.1%, hot-rolled coil was little changed and wire rod rose 0.3%. Meanwhile, stainless steel lost 1.65%.