Steel fell after China's state planner issued another warning against speculation

Steel on NCDEX settled down -1.24% at 48410 after China's state planner issued another warning against speculation in the market and fresh production curbs were imposed in major Chinese steel cities. China's National Development and Reform Commission said it would look yet again at measures to curb "unreasonable" iron ore prices and urged trading firms to avoid hoarding and inflating prices. Tangshan said it would launch a level 2 emergency response after heavy air pollution was forecast for this week. Handan, another major steel city, implemented similar curbs on March 17. Steel mills currently have enough sinter ore inventory to sustain normal production for around eight days.  The People's Bank of China cut the reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions by 25bps on March 17th, 2023, effective from March 27th.  China will again cut annual crude steel production in 2023, marking the third year in a row that the government has mandated reduced output. China's crude steel output in the first two months of 2023 rose 5.6% from a year earlier, official data showed, as many domestic steel mills ramped up production in February in anticipation of a pick-up in demand in March. Technically market is under fresh selling as the market has witnessed a gain in open interest by 1.8% to settle at 2260 while prices are down -610 rupees, now Steel is getting support at 48240 and below same could see a test of 48060 levels, and resistance is now likely to be seen at 48750, a move above could see prices testing 49080.